African Barrick Profit Triples on Higher Gold Price

African Barrick Gold Plc, the biggest London-listed producer of the precious metal, said full- year profit more than tripled after gold prices gained.

Net income increased to $218.1 million from $58.6 million a year earlier, the London-based company said today in a statement. African Barrick is targeting production of 700,000 ounces to 760,000 ounces in 2011, it said.

Gold producers’ profits have been buoyed by prices that rose last year as Europe’s sovereign-debt woes spurred demand for precious metals as a haven. Gold for immediate delivery averaged $1,227.22 an ounce in 2010, compared with $974.02 an ounce in 2009, and climbed to a record $1,432.50 in December.

African Barrick, which produced 700,934 ounces of gold last year, said revenue jumped 37 percent to $975 million. Fourth- quarter profit was $79 million.

The company, spun off by the world’s largest gold producer Barrick Gold Corp. last March, expects to raise annual output to more than 1 million ounces by 2014. The company operates four mines in Tanzania.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-16/african-barrick-s-full-year-profit-more-than-triples-on-higher-gold-price.html)