Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Record Gold Production and Sales In 2018 and Declares First Quarterly Dividend of 2019

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Algemeen advies 21/03/2019 05:02
VANCOUVER, March 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. ("Wheaton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018. All figures are presented in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, Wheaton generated almost $110 million in operating cash flow, bringing total operating cash flow for the year to over $475 million. The strong cash flow generation was founded on production of over 370 thousand ounces of gold, 24 million ounces of silver and 14 thousand ounces of palladium, all in excess of the Company's guidance. In addition, Wheaton had record gold production and sales in 2018.

Operational Overview

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All amounts in thousands except gold and palladium ounces produced and sold, per ounce amounts and per share amounts

Highlights
•Wheaton exceeded production guidance for gold, silver and palladium by 5%, 9% and 41%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2018. In addition, annual gold production and sales in 2018 represented a record for the Company.
•The increase in attributable gold production for the three months and year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the commencement of the San Dimas gold stream effective May 10, 2018, and the Stillwater precious metals stream effective July 1, 2018, as well as higher production at both Salobo and Constancia.
•The decrease in attributable silver production for the three months and year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the termination of the San Dimas silver stream effective May 10, 2018, all deliveries from the Lagunas Norte, Veladero, and Pierina mines ceasing effective March 31, 2018 in accordance with the Pascua-Lama PMPA and, for the annual period, lower production at Peñasquito due to lower throughput and planned lower grades from stockpiles during the commissioning of the now fully constructed Peñasquito Pyrite Leach Project ("PLP").
•The increase in gold sales for the three months and year ended December 31, 2018 was due to higher production levels, partially offset by negative changes in payable gold produced but not yet delivered to Wheaton.
•The decrease in silver sales volume for the three months ended December 31, 2018 was due to the lower production levels coupled with negative changes in the balance of payable silver produced but not yet delivered to Wheaton, while for the annual period, the decrease in silver sales volume was due to lower production levels, partially offset by positive changes in payable silver produced but not yet delivered.
•Declared quarterly dividend of $0.09 per common share. In addition, the Company has set a minimum quarterly dividend of $0.09 per common share for the duration of 2019, subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors.
•On December 13, 2018, the Company announced that it had reached a settlement with the Canada Revenue Agency (the "CRA") which provides for a final resolution of the Company's tax appeal in connection with the reassessment under transfer pricing rules of the 2005 to 2010 taxation years related to the income generated by the Company's wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries outside of Canada. After the application of non-capital losses, the settlement results in no additional cash taxes in respect of the 2005 to 2010 taxation years. The transfer pricing principles reached in the settlement will apply to taxation years after 2010, including the 2011 to 2015 taxation years which are currently under audit and on a go forward basis subject to there being no material change in facts or change in law or jurisprudence.
•On October 24, 2018, Vale S.A. ("Vale") announced the approval of the Salobo III mine expansion, which would increase processing throughput capacity from 24 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") to 36 Mtpa once fully ramped up (the "Salobo Expansion").


Outlook
•Wheaton's estimated attributable production in 2019 is forecast to be 365,000 ounces of gold, 24.5 million ounces of silver and 22,000 ounces of palladium, resulting in gold equivalent production2 of approximately 690,000 ounces.
•For the five-year period ending in 2023, the Company estimates that average, annual gold equivalent production2 will amount to 750,000 ounces.


Subsequent to the Quarter
•Hudbay Minerals Inc. ("Hudbay") announced its receipt of a Section 404 Water Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Rosemont Project and that it expects to receive Rosemont's Mine Plan of Operations from the U.S. Forest Service shortly.


"Wheaton had an exceptionally successful year with our precious metals business exceeding guidance for gold, silver and palladium resulting in cash flows of over $475 million," said Randy Smallwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wheaton Precious Metals. "In addition to our strong production and cash flow in 2018, we were also able to optimize the San Dimas stream, add two additional high-quality streams from low-cost, long-life mines and reach a settlement in our long-running tax dispute with the CRA. From the firm foundation that 2018 has provided, we expect our portfolio to now deliver steady organic growth for the foreseeable future, coming from increasing grades and better recoveries at Peñasquito, the Blitz project at Stillwater ramping up to full capacity, the development of the Pampacancha deposit at Constancia, the ongoing expansion of the Salobo mine, continued improvements at San Dimas, and now, the strong possibility of Rosemont coming into production. With our sector-leading cash flows, high margins, and steady organic growth, Wheaton is primed to be the premier investment vehicle for precious metals investors worldwide."

Financial Review

Revenues
Revenue was $197 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, on sales volume of 102,800 ounces of gold, 4.4 million ounces of silver and 5,000 ounces of palladium. This represents a 19% decrease from the $243 million of revenue generated in the fourth quarter of 2017 due primarily to (i) a 40% decrease in the number of silver ounces sold; (ii) a 12% decrease in the average realized silver price ($14.66 in Q4 2018 compared with $16.75 in Q4 2017); and (iii) a 4% decrease in the average realized gold price ($1,229 in Q4 2018 compared with $1,277 in Q4 2017); partially offset by (iv) a 9% increase in the number of gold ounces sold; and (v) the introduction of palladium sales effective Q3 2018.

Revenue was $794 million in the year ended December 31, 2018, on sales volume of 349,200 ounces of gold and 21.7 million ounces of silver. This represents a 6% decrease from the $843 million of revenue generated in 2017 due primarily to (i) a 12% decrease in the number of silver ounces sold and; (ii) a 7% decrease in the average realized silver price ($15.81 in 2018 compared with $17.01 in 2017); partially offset by (iii) a 4% increase in the number of gold ounces sold; and (iv) the introduction of palladium sales effective Q3 2018.

Costs and Expenses
Average cash costs¹ in the fourth quarter of 2018 were $409 per gold ounce sold, $4.66 per silver ounce sold and $205 per palladium ounce sold, as compared with $399 per gold ounce and $4.48 per silver ounce during the comparable period of 2017. This resulted in a cash operating margin¹ of $820 per gold ounce sold, $10.00 per silver ounce sold and $932 per palladium ounce sold, a reduction of 7% and 19% for gold and silver, respectively, as compared with Q4 2017. The decrease in the cash operating margin was primarily due to a 4% decrease in the average realized gold price and a 12% decrease in the average realized silver price in Q4 2018 compared with Q4 2017.

Average cash costs¹ during the year ended December 31, 2018 were $409 per gold ounce sold, $4.67 per silver ounce sold and $190 per palladium ounce sold, as compared with $395 per gold ounce sold and $4.49 per silver ounce sold during the comparable period of 2017. This resulted in a cash operating margin¹ of $855 per gold ounce sold, $11.14 per silver ounce sold and $870 per palladium ounce sold, a reduction of 1% and 11% for gold and silver, respectively, as compared with 2017. The decrease in the cash operating margin for silver was primarily due to a 7% decrease in the average realized silver price in 2018 compared with 2017.

Earnings and Operating Cash Flows
Adjusted net earnings¹ and cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of 2018 were $37 million ($0.08 per share) and $108 million ($0.24 per share¹), compared with adjusted net earnings¹ of $82 million ($0.19 per share) and cash flow from operations of $165 million ($0.37 per share¹) for the same period in 2017, a decrease of 55% and 34%, respectively.

Adjusted net earnings¹ and cash flow from operations for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $214 million ($0.48 per share) and $477 million ($1.08 per share¹), compared with adjusted net earnings¹ of $277 million ($0.63 per share) and cash flow from operations of $539 million ($1.22 per share¹) for the same period in 2017, a decrease of 23% and 11%, respectively.

Balance Sheet
At December 31, 2018, the Company had approximately $76 million of cash on hand and $1.3 billion outstanding under the Company's $2 billion revolving term loan (the "Revolving Facility"). On February 27, 2019, the term of the Revolving Facility was extended by an additional year, with the facility now maturing on February 27, 2024.

Tax Dispute Settlement

On December 13, 2018, the Company reached a settlement with the CRA which provides for a final resolution of Wheaton's tax appeal in connection with the reassessment of the 2005 to 2010 taxation years under transfer pricing rules related to income generated by the Company's foreign subsidiaries outside of Canada. The terms of the settlement provide that foreign income on earnings generated by Wheaton's wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries will not be subject to tax in Canada. The transfer pricing principles reached in the settlement will apply to taxation years after 2010, including the 2011 to 2015 taxation years which are currently under audit and on a go forward basis subject to there being no material change in facts or change in law or jurisprudence. In addition, the settlement provided that the service fee charged by the Company for the services rendered to its foreign subsidiaries will be adjusted by, first, including the capital-raising costs incurred by the Company for the purpose of funding precious metals purchase agreements entered into by the Company's foreign subsidiaries and secondly, increasing the markup on costs incurred by the Company that are charged to the foreign subsidiaries, including attributable capital-raising costs, from 20% to 30%.

The CRA Settlement resulted in total expenses of $29 million in respect of the 2005-2017 taxation years being reflected in the Statement of Earnings during the fourth quarter, including a non-cash income tax expense of $16 million, for a net cash expense of $13 million comprised of (i) $4 million of current income taxes; (ii) $4 million of interest and penalties; and (iii) $5 million of professional fees.

Fourth Quarter Asset Highlights

During the fourth quarter of 2018, attributable production was 107,600 ounces of gold, 5.5 million ounces of silver and 5,900 ounces of palladium, representing an increase of 11% and a decrease of 23% for gold and silver, respectively, as compared with the fourth quarter of 2017.

Operational highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, based upon counterparties' reporting, are as follows:


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