Newmont's Q3 Performance Misses Expectations

(Reuters) – Newmont, the world's top gold producer, missed Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit on Wednesday. Increased costs and reduced production in Nevada overshadowed a rise in total output.

Shares of the company fell by 6.8% after hours.

Newmont attributed the rising costs to planned maintenance at the Lihir project in Papua New Guinea, acquired through a $17 billion buyout of Newcrest, and increased spending on contract services across its portfolio.

All-in sustaining costs for gold, a key industry metric, increased to $1,611 per ounce for the July-September quarter, up from $1,426 per ounce a year prior.

The company's attributable production at Nevada Gold Mines fell 19.3% to 242,000 ounces in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year.

Newmont has a non-operating minority stake in Nevada Gold Mines, alongside rival Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD), which also posted lower-than-expected production results earlier this month due to reduced output in Nevada.

In contrast, Newmont's total gold production rose 29.2% to 1.67 million ounces, largely driven by increased output at the Cerro Negro mine in Argentina, which previously faced production issues following the tragic deaths of two workers.

Market projections had estimated the miner would produce about 1.64 million ounces of gold in the reporting period.

The company anticipates producing 1.8 million gold ounces in the fourth quarter, its highest output of the year, and remains focused on achieving its target of $2 billion from divestments.

Newmont reported an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of 86 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.