The Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) share price ended the day in the green. This comes after the company released a trading update for the FY 2021 period.
At the closing bell, the gold miner's shares finished today up 0.49% to $2.06.
How has Westgold been performing?
Investors appeared to be pleased with the company's latest financial update, sending Westgold shares slightly higher.
In today's statement, Westgold advised that COVID-19 related travel restrictions and labour availability have continued to impact operations. However, despite the disruptions, the company is set to achieve overall growth from its core Murchison gold projects for FY21.
With just a few weeks remaining to finish out the current financial year, Westgold projects an improved gold output. As such, the company is estimating gold production to be in the range of 245,000 ounces and 250,000 ounces. This is an increase on the 235,000 ounces of gold attained in FY20.
C1 (direct) costs is expected to be within the guidance range of around $1,200 to $1,300 per ounce. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) which include operating costs and sustaining capital expenditure is predicted to be between $1,460 and $1,560 per ounce.
Most notably, Westgold highlighted that it's on track to report a FY21 net profit before tax of roughly $110 million. This is particularly pleasing given that the company has spent several years heavily investing in its Murchison gold assets.
Near-term outlook
Looking ahead, Westgold anticipates the June quarter output will fall below the original target, producing between 56,500 ounces to 61,500 ounces of gold. The company attributes the shortfall to a number of factors hindering operations. This includes the availability of mining personnel, haulage constraints, unfavourable weather conditions, and mine plan sequencing issues.
To counter the loss in potential revenue, management is carefully managing costs to meet its June quarter cost guidance.
About the Westgold share price
Since the start of 2021, Westgold shares have sunk by more than 20%. The company's share price is currently within the lower end of its 52-week range of $1.855 to $2.98.
Westgold has a market capitalisation of about $851 million, with approximately 423 million shares on its registry.
