Newmont Mining Shares off on 3Q Earnings Decline

Shares of Newmont Mining Corp., the world's second-largest gold miner, fell Friday after its third-quarter profit slipped eight percent on markdowns of two recently acquired companies.

Net income in the July-to-September quarter fell to $493 million, or 98 cents per share, from $537 million, or $1.09 per share, in the year-earlier period, the company said late Thursday.

Excluding special items, the company earned $1.29 per share, up 16 percent from $1.08 in the comparable 2010 quarter.

Newmont reported a $142 million, or 29 cents per share, markdown of certain marketable securities, including shares of uranium producer Paladin Energy Ltd. and Pilot Gold Inc., acquired as part of the Fronteer Gold Inc. and Long Canyon acquisition in April.

Revenue in the third quarter rose 5.7 percent to a record $2.74 billion. Operating cash flow also hit a record high of $1.3 billion.

Gold production in the period fell to 1.3 million ounces, down seven percent from the prior year's third quarter.

The Colorado-based company affirmed its guidance for full-year gold production of 5.1 million ounces to 5.3 million ounces.

Newmont also affirmed its attributable capital expenditure outlook of $2.1 to $2.5 billion.

Shares fell $1.82 to $64.83 in morning trading.

On Wednesday the company increased its quarterly dividend from 30 cents to 35 cents. In addition, Newmont is linking future dividend increases to future increases in the price of gold. The dividend will increase at a rate of five cents per share for each $100 per ounce rise in the average realized gold price for the preceding quarter.

Newmont Mining, which has a market capitalization of about $32.65 billion, operates in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico.