Centamin : reports better-than-expected first-quarter gold output

(Reuters) - Gold miner Centamin reported first-quarter production that exceeded its forecast and stuck to its annual output target as it ramped up drilling at its Sukari mine in Egypt.

The company's output totalled 116,183 ounces of gold for the three months ended March 31, above its forecast range of 105,000 to 115,000 ounces.

But that was lower than a year earlier when its production came in at 124,296 ounces of gold.

"Despite being the weakest quarter forecasted for 2019, it is encouraging to see the systems and process upgrades across all sections of the mine positively impacting performance," Chief Executive Officer Andrew Pardey said.

Unit cash costs jumped 9 percent to $631 per ounce of gold produced, in keeping with its tone in February when it warned of higher costs due to increasing input costs and rising fuel, reagent and consumable prices.

(Reporting by Samantha Machado and Muvija M in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)