Gold producer Centamin sees Q1 profit up 42%

Gold miner Centamin reports a Q1 2013 net profit of $71 million, a 42% increase over the same period last year

Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin PLC announced Wednesday a 42 percent growth in its net profits for the first quarter of 2013 to $71 million, compared to $50.8 million in the same period a year earlier.
Revenues grew by a healthy 58 percent in Q1 2013 to sit at $138.1 million, up from $87.6 million in Q1 2012.
Centamin's principal asset is the Sukari gold mine, located in Egypt's eastern desert. The company is entangled in legal disputes after an Egyptian court ruled to revoked its lease for the mine.
Centamin has appealed the court decision to the country's Supreme Administrative Court.
On Friday, the company said an advisory body had made recommendations to the court that were "not positive."
Total gold production in Q1 2013 reached 87,016 ounces, a significant rise over 49,071 ounces a year earlier.
On a quarterly basis, gold production saw a mild increase of 2 percent over the last quarter of 2012.
The mine produced a total of 262,958 ounces of gold in 2012. The company says its output remains on target to achieve the 2013 guidance of 320,000 ounces.
Since October Centamin has been plagued by bureaucratic hassles, with customs officials holding up exports and Egypt's petroleum ministry disrupting fuel supplies.
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