SYDNEY, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The fallout from an April earthquake resulted in a production drop for Australian gold mining giant Newcrest Mining, which released their annual results on Monday, and revealed a 7-percent drop in profit.
Newcrest - one of the largest gold mining companies in the world - posted a profit of 390 million Australian dollars (308 million U.S. dollars) for the financial year, and attributed their profit downturn to a natural disaster, which led to a 2-percent decline in gold production at one of their key sites.
In April, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit the Cadia mining site in New South Wales, and resulted in a temporary cessation of all mining work due to safety concerns.
Despite the disaster, Newcrest reported a free cash flow of 739 million for the 2016-17 financial year, which reduced their net debt to 1.5 billion dollars - a 29-percent reduction from the previous corresponding period.
Almost 50 percent of gold demand was for jewelry production, with China and India cumulatively accounting for more than 50 percent of this market segment.
Market analyst from CMC Markets Ric Spooner told Xinhua that the current political climate around the world is set to favor the mining heavyweight, as political events in the U.S. and Europe drive up gold prices.
"We saw a significant increase in demand for gold towards the end of last year, and also the beginning of this year," Spooner said.
"Certainly in recent times, there are a number of factors that have been helping gold, and that also includes the weakening U.S. dollar."
The miner will pay a final 70 percent franked dividend of 7.5 U.S. cents per share, and introduced a new dividend policy for the next financial year that will see future dividend payouts comprised of 10 to 30 percent of the total free cash flow.
