Newmont misses quarterly profit estimates, Penasquito ramp-up underway

(Reuters) - Newmont Corp on Thursday fell short of Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, as the world's largest gold miner struggled with weak production after a strike at its Mexico mine had shuttered operations since June.

Denver, Colorado-based Newmont's quarterly attributable gold production fell 13.4% to 1.29 million ounces from 1.49 million ounces a year earlier, primarily due to lower production at the Penasquito mine in Mexico, as well as the Akyem and Ahafo mines in Ghana.

Newmont reached a resolution with the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic on Penasquito earlier this month and expects to reach full operating capacity at the mine by the end of the fourth quarter.

Last year, Penasquito produced around 566,000 ounces of gold.

Newmont lowered its 2023 gold production forecast to 5.3 million ounces from 5.7-6.3 million ounces in the previous quarter.

The company, however, raised its all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) for gold, an industry metric that reflects total expenses associated with production, for the full year to $1,400 from $1,150-$1,250.

On an adjusted basis, the company posted a net income of 36 cents per share for the July-September quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of 43 cents.

In October, Newmont brought out Australia's Newcrest for A$26.2 billion ($16.5 billion) in one of the biggest global buyouts in 2023.

"We look forward to closing the transaction on November 6 and providing our first integration update on the combined business in the first quarter of 2024," Chief Executive Tom Palmer said in a statement.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shinjini Ganguli)