Avocet Mining has said that the year ending December 31 has seen a pre-tax profit of $33.55 million. They reported this exceptional increase of 221% as the prices of gold rose and so did their output in 2010.
They produced 236,396 ounces of gold priced at $660 per ounce in 2010. In 2009 they had produced 109,548 ounces of gold at a price of $639 an ounce. The sale gold price was $ 1,174 per ounce as compared to $975 per ounce in 2009. The net debt for the company fell from $42.9 million to $28 million.
Profits before tax and exceptional items also went up from $10.4 million to $33.4 million.
In December 2010 Avocet announced that it had signed a binding agreement for the conditional sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners, L.P, a private company, for US$200 million in cash. The transaction with J&Partners will leave Avocet as a West African gold producer with a clear strategy for growth in that region.
This new injection of cash will be used in their West African operations as per finance director Mike Norris. No formal decision regarding this has been taken as yet by the company. Having become a full fledged West African gold producing company it is geared up for an exciting year ahead.