Barrick Gold Corp. is looking to increase its gold production this year as the company also moves to lower its dividend, according to its chief executive. 

“Our guidance is the same as last year, between 4.2 and 4.6 million ounces of gold and midpoint 4.4 [million ounces of gold], and around 440 million pounds of copper. It's exactly the same guidance as we gave last year,” Mark Bristow, the president and chief executive officer of Barrick Gold, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Wednesday. 

The Toronto-based mining company reported a loss of US$735 million in its fourth-quarter results Wednesday, down from a US$726 million profit a year earlier. For the full year, the company reported a profit of US$432 million. Its total gold production during the year was 4.14 million ounces. Barrick Gold Corp. is looking to increase its gold production this year as the company also moves to lower its dividend, according to its chief executive. 

“Our guidance is the same as last year, between 4.2 and 4.6 million ounces of gold and midpoint 4.4 [million ounces of gold], and around 440 million pounds of copper. It's exactly the same guidance as we gave last year,” Mark Bristow, the president and chief executive officer of Barrick Gold, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Wednesday.

The Toronto-based mining company reported a loss of US$735 million in its fourth-quarter results Wednesday, down from a US$726 million profit a year earlier. For the full year, the company reported a profit of US$432 million. Its total gold production during the year was 4.14 million ounces. 

Barrick Gold announced that it is reducing its dividend by 33 per cent to 10 cents per share, as its board of directors approved a program to repurchase up to US$1 billion of its outstanding shares over the next year. 

Setting the dividend involves balancing investing in the company’s future and returning value to shareholders, according to Bristow. 

“So [the] dividend is based on the 10 cent base dividend and then really the dividend is controlled by the cash on the balance sheet, the net cash,” Bristow said.

For example, Bristow said adding around US$500 million in net cash from zero would add approximately five cents to the dividend. 

“The way the dividend is structured is that we have a balance between investing in our future and of course returning excess cash to our shareholders. The base dividend is really based on a US$1,300 long-term gold price, if we are above that we pay the 10 cents,” he said. 

Bristow said the company has ongoing capital projects and is currently looking at expanding operations at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia.