Barrick Mining boosted its quarterly dividend and expanded a share buyback program after bullion’s record-breaking rally.
The gold producer also said it’s undertaking an operational review.
The company — one of the world’s biggest gold producers — increased its payout by 25 per cent to US12.5c a share and approved an extra 5c a share “performance dividend” for the last three-month period, according to a statement on Monday.
“In light of exceptionally strong cash flow,” the board of the Canadian firm also authorised an additional share buyback of $US500 million ($765.2m), after repurchasing $US1 billion ($1.5b) of its stock so far this year.
Mark Hill, who took over as interim chief executive officer after Mark Bristow departed abruptly in late September, said Barrick has started a review of its operations.
“We are singularly focused on driving improved performance and shareholder value, particularly at our Tier One gold assets in Nevada and the Dominican Republic,” Mr Hill said in the statement.
“We have begun an operational review from the bottom up to ensure we are completely focused on delivering results safely and consistently going forward.”
Barrick generated a record $US1.5b $2.3b) in free cash flow in the third quarter, after producing 829,000 ounces of gold. Bullion has soared more than 55 per cent this year and last month hit an all-time high above $US4381 an ounce.
Bloomberg.
https://thewest.com.au/business/gold/mining-major-barrick-returns-more-money-to-investors-as-gold-prices-soar-c-20640763
