...May 6, 2021 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) May 6, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today said that strong gold prices will help Shandong Gold Group Co. Ltd. (SDG; ###-/Stable/--) sustain its EBITDA in 2021. This is despite production halts following mine-safety inspections that caused a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings. We anticipate SDG's EBITDA to be Chinese renminbi (RMB) 8.5 billion-RMB9.0 billion in 2021-2022, following a 10% increase in 2020 to RMB8.8 billion, based on our preliminary calculations. Our base case assumes gold prices per ounce will average US$1,700 for the rest of 2021 and US$1,500 for 2022. SDG's mined gold output will likely fall to 41-42 tons this year amid production disruptions in the first quarter. The company should resume full production gradually from the second quarter, with favorable market conditions helping it to recover lost earnings. Output should recover to 48-49 tons in 2022. We estimate SDG's EBITDA plunged 68% year on year in the first quarter as its...
