JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-headquartered gold producer B2Gold expects 2016 to be another year of record gold production as it concludes the half-year to June.

Consolidated gold production from the TSX-listed company’s operations in 2016 is expected to be between 510 000 oz and 550 000 oz, weighted to the second half of the year, owing to higher forecast grades at the company’s Namibia-based Otjikoto mine, and at its Libertad and Limon mines, in Nicaragua.

During the first six months of the year, B2Gold delivered record gold production of 263 086 oz – 6% above budget and 11% higher than the same period in 2015.

Revenue also reached a half-year record of $309.1-million on the sale of 251 728 oz, at an average price of $1 228/oz.

The group’s cash operating costs reached a half-year record low of $497/oz, equating to a 28% decline on the prior corresponding period.

“Based on the company's strong operational performance in the first half of 2016, consolidated cash operating costs for the full-year 2016 are expected to be at the lower end of the company's yearly guidance range of $560/oz to $595/oz, compared with the $616/oz achieved in 2015,” commented B2Gold.

All-in sustaining costs (AISC), at $801/oz during the first half of the year, came in 25% lower than the prior corresponding period and some 22% under B2Gold’s budget.

The company expects AISC to remain at the lower end of the fiscal 2016 guidance range of $895/oz to $925/oz.

Meanwhile, B2Gold reported cash flow from operating activities of $239.2-million, or $0.26 a share, during the half-year under review, compared with $93-million, or $0.10 a share, in the first half of 2015.

The group’s adjusted net income for the first half of 2016 was $47.8-million, or $0.05 a share, compared with the $9.5-million, or $0.01 a share, reported in the first half of 2015.

Overall, B2Gold posted a net loss of $5.2-million during the six months under review, narrowing from a loss of $16.4-million in the corresponding period last year.

B2Gold noted that, as at June 30, it remained in a strong financial position with working capital of $105.9-million, including unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $99.8-million.