Shares in St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) climbed 3% higher to $5.00 on Thursday, after the gold miner released a positive quarterly report for the last three months of FY18.
In the June 2018 quarter, the company produced a record-high 120.000 ounces of gold, lifting annual production above 400,000 ounces, with a 6% increase on the previous year.
St Barbara managed to reduce costs while increasing output. The all-in sustaining cost for the quarter was $812 per ounce, yielding an annual average of $891 per ounce. The average realised gold price for the quarter was $1,731 per ounce, ensuring the company a healthy margin and an operational cash contribution of $105 million. At June 30, St Barbara had $344 net cash.
This performance was possible thanks to the outstanding results from the company's Gwalia and Simberi operations. St Barbara recently completed a life of mine plan that extends the life of the Simberi project to FY21.
However, it's unlikely that St Barbara will be able to keep these levels of production next year. For FY19, the company expects production in the range of 350,000 ounces to 375,000 ounces, with an increase in costs.
