Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG) reported its fiscal 2013 earnings today, boosting sales but pushing less through to profits. On the top line, Resolute's revenue clocked in at $619 million, a 7% increase over 2012. The company kept cash flow at $154 million and full-year gold production came in at 435,855 ounces, more than 35,000 above 2012's numbers.
However, an increasingly rough gold market kept costs high and profits piddling. The company sold around 395,000 ounces of gold in FY 2013 for an average price of $1,562 per ounce, around $70 less than the year before. At the same time, costs increased $50 per ounce to $811.
For investors, all that whittles down to after-tax net profit of $84.9 million, including a $79.3 million impairment charge for gold investments and a $40.5 million boost from foreign currency gains. Compared to 2012, this year's profit amounts to just 80% of Resolute's previous earnings.
Looking ahead, Resolute is determined to keep digging. Its Syama Expansion Project in Mali is 34% complete at a current spend of $83 million, while drilling and exploration continues in Queensland, Cote D'Ivoire, and Tanzania.
While Resolute paid out $0.05 per share in dividends to investors this year, a 2014 payment won't be decided on until the company's half-year results. For now, the company expects to churn out 345,000 ounces of goal next year at an ever-higher cost of $890 per ounce.
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Motley Fool contributor Justin Loiseau has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article. You can follow him on Twitter @TMFJLo.
