Goldcorp Inc., the world’s biggest gold producer by market value, reported first-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates after gold prices fell. The net loss was $87 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with net income of $98 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier, the Vancouver-based company said Thursday in a statement. Earnings excluding one-time items were 1 cent a share, trailing the 9-cent average of 16 estimates. Sales increased to $1.02 billion from $878 million, topping the $962.9 million average estimate. “The decrease in adjusted net earnings was a result of lower realized margin on gold sales, higher depreciation and depletion expense and a higher effective tax rate,� Goldcorp said in the statement. Like many of its peers, Goldcorp is working to lower costs and focus on the most profitable operations following two consecutive annual declines in the price of gold. The company, which operates in North and South America, is also ramping up production at new mines in Argentina and Canada. Gold futures averaged $1,217.46 an ounce in the first quarter on the Comex in New York, 5.9 percent less than a year earlier. Goldcorp’s all-in sustaining costs, a measure to compare miners’ performance, were $885 an ounce in the first quarter, better than the preliminary guidance of $900 the company reported April 8. (Goldcorp scheduled a conference call to discuss the results at 1 p.m. New York time, accessible in the U.S. and Canada at 1-800-355-4959 and for other callers at 1-416-340-2216.)

Source