Perth Mint profit surges

The Perth Mint has reported a record profit of almost $48 million on the back of high gold prices.

The result comes despite the company suffering a fall in market share from about 99 per cent down to 88.5 per cent because of the emergence of Sydney-based competitor ABC Refinery.

Gold Corporation chief executive officer Richard Hayes said COVID-19 and the weaker Australian dollar had driven the result, which was a significant improvement on the $13.26 million profit reported in 2018-19.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 in January brought about a world no one had predicted. The shutting down of much of the world’s economy in attempts to stem infection rates and death tolls propelled a flight to safety, resulting in a significant spike in demand for our products," he said.

Turnover jumped from $18.07 billion last financial year to $23.87 billion, making the mint Western Australia's third biggest exporter by value, while dividends and tax paid to the state government totalled almost $6 million.

Meanwhile, the state-owned company reported it had $5.73 billion of client metal on deposit.