Newmont Mining Corp's (NYSE:NEM), the world's 2nd largest gold miner, is reviewing its compliance with US foreign bribery law.
Reporting its first-quarter earnings, the Colorado-based company said it had engaged outside counsel as part of a review of its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars the use of bribes to foreign officials.
The gold and copper miner didn't specified where the alleged misconduct took place.Newmont didn't specified where the alleged misconduct took place, but the firm has active gold and copper mining operations in Ghana, Australia, Indonesia, US, Peru and Suriname, according to its website.
The company spokesman Omar Jabara noted in an email that Newmont took the step to publicly self-disclose such investigation and that they are currently working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the U.S. Department of Justice on the matter:
Newmont is a founding member and signatory to the World Economic Forum's Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, and we have a company-wide ethics and compliance program that provides multiple channels for employees and others to confidentially raise issues and concerns without risk of retaliation. If we determine that individuals associated with the company have engaged in unethical behavior, we take appropriate remedial steps that could range from employee counseling to termination of employment. Due to the current status of the investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further on this matter.
While Newmont logged lower first-quarter earnings, the results beat analyst estimates. Net income from continuing operations was $78-million, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 31. That compares with $175 million, or 35 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Adjusted net income was $182 million, or 34 cents a share, which is lower than the $229 million, or 46 cents a share, logged in Q1 2015, but still well ahead of the 20 cents a share, on average, analysts had forecast.
Newmont shares have climbed 79% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased about 3%. The stock was up more than 5% to $32 on Thursday morning.