New York-listed Shares of Caledonia Mining fell after the gold miner said higher costs at its Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe will weigh on near-term earnings.
The stock slipped more than 14% to $8.80 in premarket trading. Through Friday, shares were already down almost 25% from a year ago.
The company said the Blanket Mine performed well last year and that revenue should be in line with analysts’ expectations. However, operating costs for the year rose and there were a number of one-off charges in the final three months of the year that dragged profit down.
Overtime payments for workers at the mine were higher than management expected, as were power costs. Staff-termination costs also were higher than the company expected, Caledonia said. Higher financing costs as well as a one-off impairment charge related to a tax refund claim at the Blanket Mine solar project also hit Caledonia’s bottom line.
The company said many of these costs won’t carry over into 2024, and said it is introducing measures to reduce electricity costs.
Caledonia said it expects to report full quarterly results on or before March 28.
