Avocet Mining Returns To 1H Pretax Profit On Inata Boost

28th Jul 2010 07:05

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Gold miner Avocet Mining PLC (AVM.LN) said Wednesday that it swung to a pretax profit for the first six months of 2010 following a jump in production and a rise in the gold price. Avocet, which has mines and exploration projects in west Africa and Asia, said it expects to increase production at its Inata mine in Burkina Faso to 140,000 troy ounces of gold by the end of the year. It also plans to add to its resources and reserves with exploration drilling in West Africa. Avocet said it is conducting a strategic review of its assets in southeast Asia, which include properties in Malaysia and Indonesia. In May, Avocet denied reports it agreed to a $250 million sale of two mines in the region, but said at the time it was in preliminary talks about possibly disposing of assets there. Avocet reported a pretax profit of $11.1 million for the six months to June 30, compared with a loss of $4.53 million during the six months to Sept. 30, 2009. Avocet changed its year-end to Dec. 31. Revenue increased 70% to $92.1 million from $54.2 million following a ramp-up in production at Inata. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] Order free Annual Report for Avocet Mining PLC Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=GB0000663038 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 28, 2010 02:05 ET (06:05 GMT)