Shanta Gold swings to a profit as cost-cutting starts to pay off

Shanta profits for the six months ended 30 June came in at $7.1m, a marked turnaround from the $2.1m loss turned in by the group a year earlier.

EBITDA grew 7% to $23m despite revenues dipping 4.74% to $50.2m.

The AIM-listed firm managed to cut its net debt by 3.5% throughout the half to $38.1m; however, Shanta's cash pile shrank 34.5% to $8.9m.

Despite seeing gold production fall 4.66% year-on-year to 38,207 ounces, Shanta reiterated its full-year guidance of 82,000 to 88,000 ounces of gold.

Shanta achieved roughly $7.2m of recurring cost reductions, improving its cost base by approximately $85 per ounce in less than twelve months and also managed to reduce cash costs 11% to $505 per ounce in the second quarter.

Eric Zurrin, Shanta's chief executive, said, "I'm delighted to report a profit after tax for the period of $7.1m in today's H1 2018 results. In the same period last year, we recorded a loss after tax of $2.1 m, showing the positive impact that our stringent cost focus strategy is having on the company for its shareholders."

As of 0845 BST, Shanta shares had jumped 5.38% to 4.90p.