Rising gold price helps Gold Fields to boost profits

South African mining company Gold Fields reported a big jump in half-year earnings on Thursday, benefiting from a surge in the price of gold. Gold's surge to record highs above $ 2,000 an ounce and a weaker rand have given the South African gold industry, which has produced a third of the gold bars mined in history, a lifeline after the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A bittersweet respite for gold companies was the rise of this safe-haven metal to record levels; said Chief Executive Officer Nick Holland, who will step down in September 2021. Holland, who was Managing Director at Gold Fields for 24 years and CEO for 13 years, will be retiring in line with the company's mandatory retirement age ... Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus added that the search for a replacement will begin soon. The announcement comes after rival AngloGold said last month that its CEO Kelvin Dushnisky would be stepping down for family reasons. Gold Fields' headline earnings per share for the six months ended June 30 rose to $ 0.20 from $ 0.05 last year, despite the company said it was doing pretty well for the rest of the year due to the COVID-19 crisis remained careful. Gold Field production increased from 1.083 million ounces a year ago to 1.087 million ounces in the first half of the year. Gruyere's production in Australia and an additional 10 days of production due to a realignment of its calendar offset the effects of the COVID-19 stops at its South African mine and the Cerro Corona mine in Peru, the company said. It has been estimated that 42,000 ounces of production were lost due to COVID-19-related disruptions. Overall, the impact of the pandemic resulted in South Africa's mining production shrinking for the fourth consecutive year in June, declining 28.2% year over year, with gold production declining 17%. Gold Fields, which also operates in Ghana and the Salares Norte project in Chile, has lowered its 2020 production forecast from 2.275-2.315 million ounces to 2.20-2.25 million ounces. It declared an interim dividend of rand 1.60 ($ 0.093) per common share, which is the total dividend declared last year and above the interim payout of rand 0.60 per share in 2019. Holland said shareholders could expect dividend payouts at the top of the company's policy range of 25% to 35% of normalized earnings if prices remain supportive. Higher prices mean that we earn more, so pay more, said Holland.