South Africa's Gold Fields' Q4 earnings dip

Reuters
A Gold Fields Mine company logo is seen outside the South Deep Gold mine, near Johannesburg, June 4, 2010. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African bullion producer Gold Fields reported a decline in fourth quarter earnings on Thursday on the back of softer gold prices. The price of gold has fallen about 6 percent since February last year as the dollar hit record highs over a stronger-than-expected U.S. economy. "At today's gold price we are still in a good shape to withstand even lower prices and we have done what we can to ensure that we can be a long term player in the industry," chief executive Nick Holland told Reuters. Normalised earnings per share dropped to 2 U.S cents per share in the three months to end-December, compared to 3 U.S cents in the previous quarter. Gold Fields produced 556,000 ounces of gold in the period, down from 559,000 ounces in the quarter ended September. Holland said costs during the whole of 2014 down 30 percent from the previous year due to the company's money saving initiatives.