Newcrest loss tipped as season's biggest

Newcrest Mining could report the biggest loss of the 2013 reporting season on Monday, when it reveals a troubled set of full-year results.

A consensus of analyst forecasts suggests the nation's biggest listed goldminer will report an underlying profit of $485 million, which will convert to a loss of more than $5 billion once a swath of asset write-downs is included.

The write-downs will top $6.2 billion after poor performance and a gold price slump forced the company to impair several assets.

Write-downs aside, Newcrest's underlying profits are also tipped to be their lowest since 2008 and 2009, after a savaging by the gold price slump.

That slump forced the company to curtail much of its planned gold production in coming years, meaning it is unlikely Newcrest will return to profits in the billions any time soon.

Investors will also watch the Newcrest results for guidance on Dr Maurice Newman's review of the company's disclosure performance.

Newcrest made headlines for all the wrong reasons in June when a series of analysts and investors correctly anticipated a big corporate restructure.

The saga prompted claims that market-sensitive information had been released inappropriately and, ultimately, an ASIC investigation.

Newcrest separately appointed Dr Newman to conduct his own investigation of Newcrest's disclosure performance, due within weeks, raising speculation it could be released on Monday with the results.

Newcrest shares last traded at $11.48.