Adams, Laurence P.2011-03-102011-03-102009Adams, Laurence P.. (2009). The effect of input commodity price movements on the earnings of South African gold mining companies. [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/9138http://hdl.handle.net/10539/9138A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2009Commodity producers in general typically have a commodity driven cost base as well as commodity price driven revenue stream. The research report investigates the correlation between input commodity price and gold price for gold mining companies, and how commodity price behaviour could potentially have been harnessed in managing the earnings of South African gold mining companies. The research is performed via a regression analysis to gain insight into how much of the underlying gold price is explained by movements in the input commodity costs. Furthermore a representative South African Gold mine is used to understand the earnings effect of simultaneous commodity input price and gold price hedging. The quantitative analysis confirms a sympathetic movement in gold mining commodity input price and the gold price. Furthermore, the research report has found that for the representative South African gold mining company, simultaneous commodity input and gold price hedging would have increased earnings for the years 2005 to 2008. To this end it is recommended that the comovement in commodity prices be instrumental in the price risk management of gold mining companies.en©2009 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.South AfricanInput commodityGold miningUCTDDissertationFaculty of Commerce, Law and ManagementSDG-8: Decent work and economic growthSDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure