世界头号黄金生产商放缓扩张脚步
The world's largest gold producer has signalled a new restraint on expansion, declaring that it would no longer pursue size for size's sake as it pruned growth targets and shelved projects.
全世界最大的黄金生产商暗示,其扩张步伐将再次减速,它宣称,不会再单纯地为了追求规模而寻求扩张,同时该公司调整了增长目标,并搁置了部分项目。The move by Barrick Gold came after the miner revealed an up to a $3bn blowout in the cost of a flagship project on the Chile-Argentina border.
在巴里克黄金(Barrick Gold)宣布上述举措之前,这家矿商透露,其位于智利和阿根廷边界一处旗舰项目的成本暴涨近30亿美元。Jamie Sokalsky, who took over as chief executive from Aaron Regent in June, pledged that "returns will drive production, production will not drive returns" as he announced a review of the miner's assets.
该公司首席执行官杰米•索卡尔斯基(Jamie Sokalsky)宣布,将对公司资产进行审查。他承诺,"将用收益促进生产,而不是用生产促进收益。"今年6月,索卡尔斯基从亚伦•瑞金特(Aaron Regent)手中接过了首席执行官一职。
Mr Regent was ousted by a board led by founder and chairman Peter Munk amid dissatisfaction with a 30 per cent fall in Barrick's share price during the past year.
由于不满巴里克黄金的股价在过去一年中下跌了30%,由公司创始人兼董事长彼得•蒙克(Peter Munk)率领的董事会撤掉了瑞金特的职务。But Barrick shares dropped 8 per cent yesterday after it said that the cost of its Pascua-Lama project in South America would be 50-60 per cent higher than expected at up to $8bn.
但该公司股价昨日下跌8%,因其表示,位于南美的Pascua-Lama项目的成本将比预期高出50%至60%,达到80亿美元。"Investors want to see gold companies generate more cash and not just be on a production treadmill," Mr Sokalsky said as he reduced the miner's annual output target from 9m to 8m ounces by 2015. It also shelved the $6bn Cerro Casale project in Chile and the $6.7bn Donlin Gold project in Alaska.
索卡尔斯基指出,"投资者希望看到黄金企业创造出更多的现金,而不仅仅是一味的进行生产。"他下调了该公司的年产量目标,到2015年之前,其年产量将由900万盎司降至800万盎司。此外,巴里克黄金还搁置了60亿美元的智利Cerro Casale项目以及67亿美元的阿拉斯加Donlin Gold项目。The new tone from Barrick reflects a change in thinking across the gold sector, according to Sean Boyd, chief executive of Agnico-Eagle, the Toronto-listed gold miner.
在Agnico-Eagle首席执行官肖恩•博伊德(Sean Boyd)看来,巴里克黄金的动态反映出整个黄金行业的想法已经出现了变化。Agnico-Eagle是一家在多伦多上市的黄金矿商。"The era of gold mega-projects may be fading," Mr Boyd told the Financial Times.
博伊德向英国《金融时报》表示,"黄金行业追逐超大项目的时代或许正逐渐终结。"
Barrick's move comes after a miserable period for the gold sector, with miners dogged by production problems, cost increases and slumping stock valuations.
在巴里克黄金做出这一举措之前,黄金行业经历了一段痛苦的时期,生产难题、成本上升以及股票估值重挫,这些都令矿商们倍感困扰。Barrick' s net earnings fell 35 per cent in the second quarter to $750m. Barrick's second-quarter revenues fell from $3.4bn the previous year to $3.3bn this time around.
巴里克黄金第二季度净利下滑35%,至7.5亿美元。第二季度收入从上年同期的34亿美元降至33亿美元。