Gold Fields slips as much as 4% on disappointing trading update
Restructuring and a strike at its South Deep operation was the primary cause of the company's declining earnings in the year to end-December
Gold Fields expects earnings in the year to end-December to plunge as much as 81% as a result of a damaging six-week strike at its South Deep mine. The miner expects headline earnings per share for the year to end-December of 5-9 US cents. This sent the company's share price as much as 4% lower, before losses were pared. Gold Fields had reported at the time that it was losing R6m a day as a result of the strike at South Deep, which is its only asset in SA. The strike in November by the National Union of Mineworkers was prompted by the company's ongoing restructuring at the mine. The company had announced retrenchments as it grappled with a mine that was losing R100m a month. Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said after the strike ended in December that the company was in a position to "significantly reduce" monthly cash losses at the mine. A R481m impairment at South Deep also weighed on results, the company said on Wednesday, as had retrenchment costs related to South Deep. An impairmen...
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