(Adds shares, production forecast)
By Ahmed Farhatha and Anirban Paul
July 25 (Reuters) - Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) NEM.N handily beat profit estimates on Tuesday as production improved, offsetting losses from lower realized gold prices, sending its shares up as much as 6.2 percent.
The world's second-biggest gold producer by market value also raised the bottom end of its full-year production forecast on better yield from its mines in North America and Africa.
Newmont now expects to produce 5 million to 5.4 million ounces of gold this year, up from its previous forecast of 4.9 million to 5.4 million ounces in the preceding quarter.
The production forecast was better than what analysts were expecting, RBC Capital Markets analyst Stephen Walker said, adding that the company's cost performance was also better than expected.
Newmont's all-in sustaining costs, a key benchmark, fell to $884 per ounce in the second quarter ended June 30 from $913 per ounce in the same period last year.
Sid Subramani, an analyst with Veritas Investment Research, said he expected those costs to increase in the second half of the year.
Gold production grew 13.3 percent to 1.4 million ounces in the reported quarter, the company said.
Newmont sold gold at $1,250 per ounce on an average in the quarter, lower than $1,257 per ounce a year earlier.
The company's adjusted net income rose to $248 million, or 46 cents per share, from $155 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. on average were expecting a profit of 26 cents per share as per Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose to $1.88 billion from $1.67 billion a year earlier.
The company's shares were up about 5.8 percent at $35.85 by 1400 GMT.