The company declared a final dividend of US7.5c.

Underlying profit dropped 24% to $323 million, while statutory profit fell by 12% to $332 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped by 7% to $1.3 billion, while cashflow from operations was down 3% to $1.24 billion.

Net debt fell by 27% to $2.1 billion, while gearing dropped by 22% to 22.8%.

“Newcrest’s financial performance in the 2016 financial year was solid, with all sites contributing positive free cashflow and the group achieving a 27% reduction in net debt,” Newcrest managing director and CEO Sandeep Biswas said.

“The resulting improvement in Newcrest’s target financial metrics, together with Newcrest’s profitability and market conditions, has given the Board confidence to announce a final unfranked dividend of 7.5c per share.

“Newcrest continues to focus on safety, operational discipline and cashflow generation, and has identified a range of opportunities to improve its performance in FY17 and pursue profitable growth.”

After producing 2.4 million ounces of gold in FY16, Newcrest has set guidance at 2.4-2.65Moz gold for FY17, as well as 80,000-90,000 tonnes of copper.

The company warned that production for the current quarter was likely to be lower than the implied average of guidance due to planned shutdowns at Telfer and Lihir.

FY17 all-in sustaining costs are expected to be in the range of $1.95-2.15 billion, capital expenditure will be $550-650 million and exploration expenditure will be $50-60 million.

Newcrest shares fell by A68c to $24.85.