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Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk swung to a first-half profit, though its underlying performance weakened owing to a drop in production volumes.
Net profit for the six months through June amounted to $48.9 million, compared to year-on-year losses of $22.0 million that included some one-off, non-cash items.
Operating profit slumped 67% to $48.3 million after revenue dropped 33% to $351.9 million, thanks to a 39% fall in gold production that more than offset a 9% rise in the company's average realised gold price.
Petropavlovsk did not declare an interim dividend.
The company stuck to its annual guidance, including production in the range of 430,000 to 470,000 ounces of gold.
'Petropavlovsk's financial performance in the first-half reflects the transitional period we are navigating as we shift to processing more refractory ore to supply our state-of-the-art POX plant with more of our own-mined reserves,' chief executive Denis Alexandrov said.
'In the first half of the year, own-mine production continued the downward trend that started in 2020, however we are now observing that trend reversing and expect higher production in the second half, supported by the recent launch of the Pioneer flotation plant.'
'We therefore maintain our production guidance for the full year.'