By Rhiannon Hoyle

SYDNEY--Newcrest Mining Ltd. said its annual gold output fell on year, but was in line with the company's forecasts.

The Australia-based mining company also reiterated a seismic event at its Cadia mine shouldn't dent this fiscal year's outlook, but said there's a risk of Covid-19 impacting output at its Lihir operation.

Newcrest produced 2.093 million troy ounces of gold in the 12 months through June, down from 2.171 million ounces a year earlier. Output was within a guidance range of 1.950 million-2.150 million ounces.

Newcrest said fourth-quarter gold output was up 6% on the third quarter because of a strong performance from its Cadia and Telfer operations in Australia.

Chief Executive Sandeep Biswas said a prohibition notice had been lifted at the Cadia operation following a localized seismic event earlier this month. Newcrest doesn't expect the disruption to impact fiscal 2022 gold or copper production, and development and expansion works continue uninterrupted, he said.

However, Newcrest cautioned that the pandemic remains a risk for its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea.

While the number of Covid-19 cases at the operation remain at manageable levels, "the ability to attract labor, travel restrictions, contact tracing and associated isolation requirements has impacted total material mined," Newcrest said.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-21-21 1927ET