TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold miner Kinross Gold on Wednesday reported a second-quarter loss of $2.48-billion after it booked another multibillion-dollar noncash charge in as many quarters and suspended its twice-yearly dividend.

The company released its financial results for the three months ended June 30 after markets closed on Wednesday, saying the net loss included an after-tax noncash impairment charge of $2.29-billion, which was mainly the result of lower short-term and long-term gold price assumptions.

Kinross also booked a $720-million charge related to its discontinued Fruta del Norte project, in Ecuador.

Adjusted to remove special items, Kinross reported net earnings of $119.5-million, or $0.10 a share, down 24% year-on-year on the $156.8-million, or $0.14 a share, reported in the same period a year earlier, beating average analyst expectations of adjusted earnings of $0.07 a share.

Kinross in February booked a $3.2-billion charge related to the Tasiast mine, in Mauritania, and the Chirano gold mine, in Ghana, both of which were acquired in the company's $7.1-billion takeover of Red Back Mining in 2010. It previously wrote down $2.94-billion in goodwill related to the two mines.

Gold prices have fallen sharply from the start of the year, hitting a near three-year low at about $1 180/oz in late June.

Quarterly revenue fell to $968-million from $1.01-billion.

The total gold-equivalent output increased marginally to 661 636 oz. The Toronto-based miner also said it would defer a decision to expand its Tasiast mill until 2015 at the earliest, regardless of the outcome of a feasibility study on the plant, which is expected in the first quarter of 2014.

In response to the recent drop in the gold price, the company said it would implement cost-cutting measures of about $180-million for the rest of the year and would target significant capital spending savings in 2014. The company reduced its 2013 capital expenditure forecast to about $1.45-billion from $1.6-billion.

To help ensure Kinross maintained a strong balance sheet and liquidity position in the current uncertain gold price environment, the board had determined to suspend the twice-yearly dividend, saying future decisions on the dividend would be based on factors such as market conditions, balance sheet strength and liquidity, operational performance, and the impact of cost reduction measures.

In March, the miner declared a dividend of $0.08 a share.

Kinross maintained its 2013 production guidance of between 2.4-million and 2.6-million attributable gold-equivalent ounces at a cost of $740/oz to $790/oz and all-in sustaining costs of between $1 100/oz and $1 200/oz sold.

The company’s NYSE-listed stock, which had fallen 46.65% since the start of the year, on Wednesday closed at $5.23 apiece.