News: NCM UPDATE 2-Barrick Gold plans $1 bln share buyback, sees costs stabilising

	  Q4 profit beats forecasts 

	  Barrick to buy back up to $1 bln of shares 

	  Cost of producing gold and copper jumps 

(Adds CEO comment, context on Newmont deal, cost forecasts)

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO , GOLD.N on Wednesday beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit and announced a share buyback of up to $1 billion after record payouts to shareholders last year.

In the gold miner's results statement, Chief Executive Mark Bristow made a glancing reference to rival Newmont Corp's $16.9 billion bid for Newcrest Mining Ltd which has ramped up pressure on gold miners to do deals.

Bristow said Barrick "has always believed that discovering ounces was better than buying them at a premium". Newmont's offer implied a 21% premium to Newcrest's share price.

Barrick last month reported a 13.4% rise in gold production as access to high-grade ore at its Cortez and Carlin mines in Nevada powered a "strong finish" to the fourth quarter. Earnings for the quarter came in at 13 cents per share, while analysts on average had expected 11 cents, according to Refinitiv IBES.

Production for the year, however, was 4.1 million ounces of gold, down from 4.4 million ounces in 2021.

Barrick's all-in sustaining costs (AISC), an industry metric that reflects total expenses, rose to $1,242 per ounce of gold, a 28% increase from a year earlier. Its cost of producing copper jumped by 21%, to $3.18 per pound from $2.62 per pound.

Barrick expects costs to stabilise or come down slightly in 2023, forecasting costs of $1,170 to $1,250 per ounce of gold and between $2.95 and $3.25 per pound of copper.

The company returned a record $1.6 billion to shareholders in 2022 through dividends and buybacks. (([email protected]; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Arshreets))