African Barrick Gold (ABG) - Cheapest London Major

LONDON, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Research Report from Edison Investment Research

African Barrick Gold (ABG) was listed on the London market in its own right on 19 March 2010 at a price of 575p. Notwithstanding two production/profits warnings on account of issues associated with the processing of transitional ore and the discovery of an organised fuel theft syndicate (both at Buzwagi), ABG's actual FY10 price-earnings ratio of 16.7x was at a 48% discount to the 32.0x average historic P/E ratio of the NYSE Arca Gold BUGS index in 2010. Since then it has underperformed the gold price in US dollar terms (in common with other majors), such that it now trades at a risk-adjusted discount to its peers.

Please click here to view the full report: http://bit.ly/Edison-ABG

On the basis of Edison's earnings expectations to FY14 (excluding growth projects), ABG is consistently cheap relative to Randgold Resources. To the extent that it is expensive relative to Petropavlovsk, its premium valuation is small by FY14, when its EV/EBITDA ratio is 5.3x (vs 4.3x for POG). Given that ABG has zero commissioning risk inherent within this analysis and only relatively minor mine life extension risk at Tulawaka, we conclude that, on a risk-adjusted basis, ABG offers the best value for investors in the London gold sector. Considered alternatively, ABG only has to produce an additional 163,478oz of gold in FY14 at the same average cost of production as the rest of its output to render it, definitively, the cheapest London gold major.

African Barrick Gold was historically the Tanzanian gold mining business of Barrick and is one of Africa's five largest gold producers with output from four mines, namely Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi, North Mara and Tulawaka.

Edison is Europe's leading investment research company. It has won industry recognition, with awards in both the UK and internationally. The team of more than 65 includes over 35 analysts supported by a department of supervisory analysts, editors and assistants. Edison writes on more than 280 companies across every sector and works directly with corporates, investment banks, brokers and fund managers. Edison's research is read by major institutional investors in the UK and abroad, as well as by the private client broker and international investor communities. Edison was founded in 2003 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmBasicDetails.do?sid=181584).

Contact: [email protected] or +44(0)20-3077-5700

SOURCE Edison Investment Research

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED