(Reuters) - Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (TO:ABX) (N:GOLD) beat quarterly profit estimates and raised its dividend payout on Wednesday, benefiting from higher production and better gold prices.
Average realized gold prices rose 21.4% to $1,476 per ounce in the third quarter and gold production rose to 1.31 million ounces from 1.15 million ounces a year earlier, the world's second largest gold producer said.
Spot gold prices have surged 16% so far this year, fueled by investors shifting to safe-haven assets as a prolonged U.S.-China trade war roiled financial markets and weighed on global economic growth.
The miner has been looking to boost its reserves, and in July had agreed with Newmont Goldcorp Corp (N:NEM) to combine their assets in the U.S. state of Nevada.
It has also resolved a more than two-year long tax dispute with the Tanzanian government that ended with the miner taking full control of its African unit Acacia Mining.
Adjusted profit rose to $264 million, or 15 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $89 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected it to earn 11 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company raised its quarterly dividend by 25% to $0.05 per share.
