Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. rose 0.4% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the gold miner reported first-quarter profit that fell less than expected and doubled its dividend, as the realized gold price climbed 5.6%. Net income declined to $438 million, or 25 cents a share, from $538 million, or 29 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 26 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 24 cents. Revenue fell 3.5% to $2.85 billion, matching the FactSet consensus, while cost of sales increased 1.6% to $1.74 billion. Realized gold price per ounce rose to $1,876 from $1,777, while gold production declined 10.1% to 990,000 ounces. The company raised its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share, including a 10-cent performance dividend, from 10 cents a share, with the new dividend payable June 15 to shareholders of record of May 27. The stock has rallied 18.0% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has dropped 12.4%.
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