50NT Hsbc Bk. 25

Gold Fields Limited
Registration number 1968/004880/06
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)       Enquiries
24 St Andrews Road
Parktown, 2193                                       South Africa

Postnet Suite 252                                    Willie Jacobz
Private Bag X30500                                   Tel +27 11 644-2460
Houghton, 2041                                       Fax +27 11 484 0639
South Africa
                                                     North America
Tel +27 11 644-2400
Dir + 27 11 644-2460                                 Cheryl A Martin
Fax +27 11 644-2460                                  Tel +303 796-8683
www.goldfields.co.za                                 Fax +303 796 8293

                                                     Full results on website
                                                     www.goldfields.co.za
                                                     www.gold-fields.com



MEDIA RELEASE

                         Gold Fields Limited Reports
                         First Quarter 2002 Earnings


               Live Conference Call Audio Webcast on 30 October
                          at 17.00 Johannesburg time
                       (10:00 a.m., North American EST)
                  See www.goldfields.co.za for more details


  * Operating profit increases 11 per cent to R498 million.

  * Attributable gold output increases by 4 per cent to 886,000 ounces.

  * Earnings of R203 million for the quarter.

  * Tarkwa has another record production quarter.

  * Gold Fields agrees to purchase WMC Australian gold assets for US$232
    million.

  * Gold Fields and Repadre to acquire Damang Gold Mine adjacent to Tarkwa
    in Ghana.

  * Exclusive right granted to African Rainbow Minerals/Harmony Joint
    Venture to negotiate the possible acquisition of the St Helena and Oryx
    mines.

  * Gold Fields receives exclusive right to negotiate the acquisition of
    19.9 per cent of Harmony's stake in Goldfields of Australia Limited.

Johannesburg, 30 October 2001 - Gold Fields Limited (JSE - GFI and Nasdaq -
GOLD) today reported net and headline earnings for the September quarter of
R203 million, or 45 cents per share.

This compares to a loss in the June 2001 quarter of R1,564 million, or 343
cents (SA) per share and headline earnings, excluding year-end asset
impairments, of R130.4 million. Translated to US dollars, net earnings for the
September quarter were $24 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to a loss of
$195 million, or $0.43 per share in the June quarter.

Operating profit for the September quarter was R498 million, up 11 per cent
from R448 million in the previous quarter.

This improvement was achieved in spite of an 8 per cent increase in costs
caused by the annual wage increases, the effect of which were more than offset
by a 4 per cent increase in production to 886,000 ounces and a 6 per cent
increase in the Rand per kilogram price achieved.

The increase in operating profit was offset by higher normalised tax arising
from the increase in operating profit and a reduction in capital expenditure,
as well as lower sundry income that, in the June quarter, was bolstered by an
insurance claim payout. Comparable earnings, excluding all asset impairments
and other once off items, were R210 million in the previous quarter.

Cash costs for the September 2001 quarter were US$200 an ounce compared to
US$195 in the previous quarter, an increase of only 2.5 percent, despite the
wage increases.

Although the Rand gold price has recently increased to over R80,000 per
kilogram, this increase came too late in the quarter to have a significant
impact on the September quarter's results. However, should the gold price and
Rand:Dollar exchange rate be maintained at present levels, the Group's results
in the December quarter should be significantly higher than in the September
Quarter.

Chris Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields said: "The
September Quarter exemplified our strategy to grow Gold Fields. The first leg
of that strategy is to continuously improve our existing operations and we are
particularly pleased to see the positive trends that started to come out of
both Kloof and Driefontein during the latter part of the September quarter and
continued into the December quarter."

"The second leg of our strategy is to grow and diversify Gold Fields through
value enhancing acquisitions. Recently I signalled that we felt that the
market conditions for acquisitions had been improving: the general outlook for
gold is more bullish; asset prices have become more reasonable; and
competition for these has diminished somewhat. Against this background the
past few months have been very busy and rewarding for Gold Fields. We see this
trend continuing," he added.

"The proposed acquisition of St Ives and Agnew from WMC and Damang from Ranger
will, based on historical performance, add over 800,000 ounces of net
production to Gold Fields per year and add to earnings, cashflow and net asset
value per share. Both acquisitions are quality assets with good exploration
potential," said Thomson.

With regard to the gold price Thompson said: "The continued impact of lower
interest rates on the profitability of hedging, the deteriorating outlook for
gold supply and the changing sentiment on bullion desks, suggest an improving
outlook for gold."

Operations

For the third quarter in a row, the Tarkwa operation in Ghana achieved record
production levels, with gold production increasing 28 per cent to 150,000
ounces, at a slightly lower cash cost of US$163 per ounce, compared to US$169
per ounce the previous quarter.

Kloof achieved a 6 percent increase in gold output, producing 279,000 ounces
compared to 264,000 ounces in the June quarter. Cash costs declined to US$210
per ounce compared to US$216 per ounce in the previous quarter.

At Driefontein, gold output increased, albeit marginally, to 324,000 ounces
compared to 322,000 ounces in the June quarter, at cash costs of US$189 per
ounce, an increase over last quarter's $178 per ounce as a result of lower
surface output due to plant maintenance and upgrades.

On a positive note, the carbon in pulp plants at both Kloof 1 and Driefontein
1 Plants, as well as the central elution facilities at both operations, were
commissioned during the quarter. Results have been positive and, despite
normal commissioning problems, operations have stabilised with further
improvements expected in the future.

In the Free State, production at Beatrix decreased slightly this quarter, from
147,000 ounces to 145,000 ounces, mainly as a result of lower grades at the
start of the quarter. The decline was mainly at Beatrix 4 shaft where
underground yield decreased to 4.1 grams per ton compared to 5.2 grams per ton
in the previous quarter. Cash costs increased by 9 percent to US$222 per ounce
from US$204 per ounce in the previous quarter.

At St. Helena, lower mining volumes resulted from the planned closure of 10
shaft and gold production decreased to 32,000 ounces from 38,000 ounces in the
June quarter. Cash costs increased to US$306 per ounce as compared to the
previous quarter's US$255 per ounce, due to the lower output.

Exploration and Development

Confirmatory metallurgical studies at Arctic Platinum are underway, as well as
drilling of the SK prospect. Completion of a full feasibility study is
expected by September 2002. As a result of surpassing a cumulative investment
of US$11 million, Gold Fields now has a vested interest of 49 per cent in the
project.

Proposed acquisition of ST Ives and Agnew Gold Mines from WMC

On 21 September 2001 WMC Resources Limited advised Gold Fields that its offer
for the St Ives and Agnew gold mines in Western Australia was successful. The
offer comprised US$180 million cash plus new shares in Gold Fields to the
value of US$52 million, together with a royalty based on future gold
production. The transaction, for which South African Reserve Bank approval had
been obtained, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It is
expected that US$160 million of the cash component will be funded by a US$200
million facility provided by a consortium of Banks.

In order to protect its exposure to Australian Dollar denominated costs, Gold
Fields has put in place a risk management strategy to limit the cost of
purchasing its Australian Dollar requirements during the term of the loan
facility. Accordingly, appropriate hedging instruments have been established
in respect of US$100 million per annum for five years. These hedging
instruments provide protection at United States Dollar/Australian Dollar
exchange rates ranging between 0.49 and 0.52.

Based on historic performance, this acquisition should increase Gold Fields'
production to 4.5 million ounces per year.

Proposed acquisition of Damang Gold Mine From Ranger Minerals

Gold Fields Limited and Repadre Capital Corporation have signed a memorandum
of understanding with Ranger Minerals Limited, which, subject to certain
conditions precedent, allows for the purchase by Gold Fields and Repadre of
Ranger's 90 percent interest in Abosso Goldfields Limited. Gold Fields will
pay A$63 million in cash and Repadre will contribute 4 million Repadre shares.
On completion of the transaction Gold Fields will own 71.1 per cent of Abosso,
which is the holding company of the Damang Mine.

Oryx & St Helena option granted

In support of the much needed consolidation process in the Free State region,
Gold Fields has granted the ARM/Harmony Joint Venture an exclusive option to
negotiate the purchase of the St Helena and Oryx mines. In addition,
discussions have been held regarding the possibility of Gold Fields providing
part of the funding requirements of the joint venture.

In return Harmony has granted Gold Fields an exclusive option to negotiate the
acquisition of 19.9 per cent of Harmony's current 22.96 per cent stake in
Goldfields Ltd of Australia.

Gold Fields Limited is one of the world's largest unhedged gold producers with
total production of 3.8 million ounces for the year ended June 30, 2001 from
its Driefontein, Kloof and Free State operations in South Africa and its
Tarkwa operation in Ghana. Gold Fields has total resources of 139 million
ounces of gold and total reserves of 81 million ounces and is listed on the
Johannesburg, Nasdaq, London, Paris and Swiss exchanges.


      SA RAND                  SALIENT FEATURES                US DOLLARS
      Quarter                                                    Quarter
June 2001 Sept 2001                                        Sept 2001 June 2001
   26,567    27,555    Kg      Gold production*  oz (000)        886       854

   50,411    53,829   R/kg        Cash costs       $/oz          200       195

    7,782     7,675    000       Tons milled        000        7,675     7,782

   69,470    73,646   R/kg         Revenue         $/oz          274       269

      193       212   R/ton    Operating costs     $/ton          25        24

      448       498    Rm      Operating profit     $m            59        56

      130       203    Rm     Headline Earnings     $m            24        16
       29        45 SA c.p.s.                    US c.p.s.         5         4

  (1,564)       203    Rm        Net earnings       $m            24     (195)
    (343)        45 SA c.p.s.                    US c.p.s.         5      (43)

* Attributable - all companies wholly owned except Tarkwa (71.1%)



                          FULL RESULTS AVAILABLE AT

                             WWW.GOLDFIELDS.CO.ZA





                                  ** END***

Hsbc Bk. 25 (LSE:50NT)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Dez 2024 bis Jan 2025

Hsbc Bk. 25 (LSE:50NT)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jan 2024 bis Jan 2025