Centamin pays $46.3m interim dividend, maintains year-end payout promise

Sukari gold mine, operated by Egypt's Centamin

CENTAMIN, a UK-listed miner that operates Egypt’s Sukari gold mine, said it would pay a $0.04 US cents per share interim dividend – equal to $46.3m – and that its full year output guidance of between 400,000 and 430,000 ounces of gold was intact.

This followed a previously flagged but nonetheless disappointing second quarter in which gold sales totalled 203,802 – 25% lower than at the same time last year.

However, the shift of low-grade inventories and the gold price came to Centamin’s assistance: the average realised gold price was $1,799/oz for the six months. As a result, the impact of lower sales on revenue was dampened to 18% year on year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were $190.4m with a 52% EBITDA margin. Profit before tax was $116.8m and net profit after tax attributable to shareholders was $59.5m. The outcome was basic share earnings of 5.16 cents.

“The company is financially robust with $312m in cash and liquid assets, providing the flexibility to invest in the long-term future of our flagship asset, Sukari, and continue to develop our active growth pipeline in Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire,” said Martin Horgan, CEO of Centamin in a statement.

The announcement of a full year dividend of 9 cents a share (about $105m) would be “… a key affirmation of the investment case as will the reiteration of FY2021 guidance to 400-430koz at costs of $800-900/oz and all-in sustaining costs of $1,150-1,250/oz,” said Kieron Hodgson, an analyst for Panmure Gordon, a UK stock brokerage.