Ashanti Goldfields Co, Ghana's premier company, and the largest quoted vehicle based in Africa between the Sahara adn the Zambezi, announced lustrous first quarter results to the New York and London markets on Wednesday. Pre-tax profits were reported up 47% from US$15m to US$22m, on the back of gold production up by 21% to 402,151 ounces, against 331,414 in the same period last year. The cash operating costs of production fell again by 11% to US$211 per ounce. The realised price of gold was US$380 per ounce, down from an average US$400 in 1998, but, thanks to the company's extensive hedgning programme, this is still comfortably above the spot price of gold, currently around US$280 per ounce.
Ashanti confirmed the sale of its 50% non-managing stake in the Golden Pride mine in Tanzania, acquired with the purchase of Samax Gold last year. This has been sold to Resolute Mining of Australia for between US$40m and US$48m. Mine construction at Geita in Tanzania has begun. The company is well on target to produce 1.6m ounces this year at an average cost of about US$220 an ounce. The results caused a surge in the "world price" of Ashanti shares, up to 570 pence. In Accra, possibly because the Exchange has not publicised these results, the share price was unmoved at 18,700 cedis, though turnover was once again relatively high by Ghanaian standards at 310 shares.
The most heavily traded issue in the session was Ghana Commercial Bank, a line of 36,300 shares was traded at 1000 cedis (unchanged). The decline of SSB Ltd resumed, down 20 cedis to 1670 on turnover of 3900 shares. Standard Chartered Bank, the third of the triumvirate of quoted banks, was not traded at 24,000 cedis.
The increase in the GSE All-Share Index was a consequence of a 450 cedi rise in Mobil Oil of Ghana Ltd on turnover of 1100 shares. There were no other price movements, though eight further issues were traded, bringin the total to 12.
Metalloplastica Ghana Ltd was traded for the second successive session, just 200 shares at 225 cedis, a deal worth about GBP11 or US$19, but MGL is one of the most infrequently traded markers on the exchange.
The "optimism index", of issues where bids exceed offers, clawed back up to 3, composed of GCB, Guinness Ghana Ltd and Unilever who between them accounted for almost 95% of the aggregate bids recorded of 483,310. Aggregate offers was reported at over 4.3m, with British American Tobacco Ghana (1.64m shares) and Aluworks Ltd (694,000) to the fore. However, the raw data issued by the Stock Exchange does not show a figure for the shares offered in Ghana Commercial Bank, and lists BAT both as BAT and under its previous name of Pioneer Tobacco Co (PTC).
No trades were recorded in the bond market.
