New projects will restore their growth

Article Excerpt

These two leading mining companies reported lower earnings for 2012. But they’re both working on important projects that should boost their earnings in 2013 and beyond. NEWMONT MINING CORP. $40 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 496.7 million; Market cap: $19.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) gets 90% of its revenue from gold mines in the U.S., Australia and Peru. Copper, zinc and other metals supply the remaining 10%. In 2012, Newmont sold its gold for an average of $1,662 an ounce, up 6.4% from $1,562 in 2011. But production fell 4.9%, to 5.6 million ounces from 5.9 million. That’s because it had to cut production at its 31.5%-owned Batu Hijau gold/copper project in Indonesia as the mine prepares to open a new phase in 2014. As a result of the lower production, Newmont’s revenue fell 4.7% to $9.9 billion from $10.4 billion. Rising operating costs and higher royalty…