"The worst should be behind us; onwards and upwards from here." They were the words of the mining team at Liberum, the boutique investment bank, analysing the first-quarter results of Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL).
The company's performance was marred by a less-than-auspicious start to oxide gold ore production at the Bilboes operation in Zimbabwe. Its main Blanket operation encountered operational and technical difficulties.
Still, the group maintained its full-year production target of 75-80,000 ounces of the yellow metal.
"We expect to see improving results over the course of 2023," said Liberum in which it tweaked down its price target to 1,075p a share from 1,102p.
In afternoon trade, the shares were changing hands for 1,058p, down 12p.