Gold Fields returns to profit in first-quarter as bullion climbs to record

Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest producer of the metal, posted a fiused stone crusher for sale Indiarst-quarter profit, helped by rising bullion prices and as a stake sale to black investors in the preceding period wasn’t repeated. Profit excluding one-time items was 1.1 billion rand ($159 million), or 1.51 rand a share, compared with a loss of 776 million rand, or 1.09 rand, in the previous three months, the Johannesburg-based company said today in a statement.

Analysts who track South African gold producers compare consecutive quarters, rather than year-on-year numbers. Gold rose to a record $1,447.82 an ounce in London trading in the first quarter, helping Gold Fields and competitors AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Harmony Gold Mining Co. mitigate the effect of rising power and labor costs in South Africa. Gold Fields posted a fourth-quarter loss after selling a stake in the company to black South Africans to comply with the country’s ownership rules. Production fell 8 percent to 830,000 ounces in the period from 898,000 ounces in the fourth quarter, Gold Fields said. Barrick Gold Corp., Newmont Mining Corp. and AngloGold are the largest producers of the metal.