Canadian gold major Barrick on Thursday reported lower third-quarter adjusted earnings of $419-million - an 18% drop on its second quarter performance and 42% below that of a year earlier.

Adjusted net earnings fell to $0.24 a share, from $0.29 a share in the second quarter and $0.41 a share in the third quarter of 2020.

Barrick’s results have been weighed down by a retreat in the price of gold, which touched record levels last year amid concerns over Covid-19. The miner reported a realised gold price of $1 771/oz in the third quarter of 2021, compared with $1 820/oz in the second quarter and $1 926/oz in the comparative quarter of 2020.

Barrick’s attributable gold production for the quarter was 1.09-million ounces and 3.23-million ounces for the year-to-date. Attributable copper production for the quarter was 100-million pounds and 289-million pounds for the year-to-date.

Strong third quarter production from its Africa and Middle East and Latin America regions has positioned them to meet the top end of their guidance for the year. At the same time, with Nevada Gold Mines' quarter-on-quarter improvement and with its Carlin mill operations now restored, Barrick is set to end 2021 with an enhanced quarter, positioning it for a strong finish to the year, the company stated.

Presenting the results, president and CEO Mark Bristow said that the operating cash flow of $1.05-billion and the free cash flow of $481-million for the quarter would further support an already strong balance sheet and the funding of Barrick’s capital allocation priorities.

He noted that the sustainable quarterly dividend of 9c a share and the payment of the final $250-million tranche of the $750-million return of capital distribution would combine to lift the total cash return to shareholders to a record level of about $1.4-billion during 2021.

“More than two years after the merger, we are getting to where we want to be, with the industry’s best asset base in the form of six Tier One gold mines and a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality growth opportunities,” commented Bristow.