Eldorado Gold slips to quarterly loss on China mine charges

TORONTO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Eldorado Gold Corp reported a fourth-quarter loss on Friday as the Canadian miner booked an $808.4 million impairment charge on the carrying value of its Jinfeng and Eastern Dragon projects in China.

The Vancouver-based company's net loss was $687.5 million, or 96 cents per share, compared to a profit of $115 million, or 16 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue slumped to $231.7 million, from $350 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, on lower gold prices and volumes.

Gold production dropped 11 percent to 168,842 ounces, down from 190,530 ounces a year ago. The company's realized gold price slipped 25 percent to $1,264 per ounce.

Total cash costs rose slightly to $577 per ounce, from $566 per ounce in the previous year.

Eldorado said it recorded a $283.5 million charge against the carrying value of its Jinfeng mine at the end of December and a $524.9 million charge on its Eastern Dragon project, also in China, where permits have been delayed for years.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

((julie.gordon@thomsonreuters.com)(1 604 664 7314)(Reuters Messaging: julie.gordon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: ELDORADO RESULTS/