(Reuters) -Miner Barrick Gold Corp, reported a fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by lower output at its Carlin and Cortez mines in Nevada.
The omicron coronavirus variant has caused labor shortages and other production disruptions, forcing rivals like Newmont Corp to take a hit of as much as 150,000 ounces in the first quarter.
Barrick said its all in sustaining costs, an industry metric that reflects total costs associated with production, was up at $1,164 per ounce of gold from $1,018 per ounce a year earlier.
The miner’s realized gold price rose to $1,876 per ounce from $1,777 per ounce in the quarter, while it increased nearly 14% to $4.68 per pound for copper.
Barrick also declared a dividend of 20 cents per share for the first quarter, nearly double from the previous quarter.
The company said net earnings fell to $438 million, or 25 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, from $538 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
