Randgold (Nasdaq:GOLD) Plunges on 39 Percent Increase in Costs

No matter how hard Randgold (Nasdaq:GOLD) Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow tried to deflect attention away from the 39 percent increase in costs, he couldn't do it, and the gold miner took a beating, even though other numbers were decent in their last quarter.

The cost issue came from power outages at their Loulo mine in Mali. That resulted in the cost increases, and in dollars it came to $665 an ounce of gold. Gold price for immediate delivery for the quarter were at $1,196.53 an ounce.

Consequently, gold production in the next quarter had to be downwardly revised, and will come in at best, about 5 percent within the target range of 477,000 ounces.

Bristow said about the Mali situation, “We’re at a point where we have identified the issue. By the fourth quarter we should be settled.”

Net income rose from the $14.9 million last year in the same period, to $34.4 million in the second quarter this year.

Randgold dropped to $86.96, a decline of $3.54, or 3.91 percent.