Hochschild Mining Plc (LON:HOC), today announced preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2018
Financial highlights
§ Revenue of $704.3 million (2017: $722.6 million)[1]
§ Adjusted EBITDA of $268.0 million (2017: $300.8 million)[2]
§ Pre-exceptional profit before income tax of $54.7 million (2017: $66.8 million)
§ Post-exceptional profit before income tax of $38.4 million (2017: $64.1 million)
§ Adjusted basic earnings per share of $0.05 (2017: $0.08)[3]
§ Cash and cash equivalent balance of $79.7 million as at 31 December 2018 (2017: $257.0 million)
§ Gross debt of $157.1 million as at 31 December 2018 (2017: $359.8 million)
§ Net debt of $77.4 million as at 31 December 2018 (2017: $102.8 million)
§ Final proposed dividend of 1.959 cents per share ($10 million) bringing the full-year total dividend to $20 million (2017: $17 million)
2018 operational delivery exceeding guidance
§ 2018 All-in sustaining costs (AISC) from operations of $931 per gold equivalent ounce (2017: $910) or $12.6 per silver equivalent ounce (2017: $12.3) exceeding positively revised full year cost guidance of $940-$970 per gold equivalent ounce or $12.7-13.1 per silver equivalent ounce[4]
§ Full year attributable production of 526,650 gold equivalent ounces (39.0 million silver equivalent ounces) exceeding positively revised full year production guidance of 520,000 gold equivalent ounces (38.5 million silver equivalent ounces)
§ Record production at Inmaculada: 251,090 gold equivalent ounces (2017: 239,479 ounces)
§ Inmaculada brownfield drilling programme added 102 million silver or 1.3 million gold equivalent ounces of inferred resources in 2018 (using a gold/silver ratio of 81:1)[5]
§ Brownfield drilling programmes set to continue at Inmaculada and San Jose in Q1 2019 and at Pallancata in Q3 2019 following receipt of permits
2019 outlook[6]
§ Production target of 457,000 gold equivalent ounces (37.0 million silver equivalent ounces) excluding Arcata
§ Arcata placed on care and maintenance
§ AISC from operations expected to be $960-$1,000 per gold equivalent ounce ($11.8-12.3 per silver equivalent ounce)
§ Total sustaining and development capital expenditure expected to be approximately $130-140 million including $15 million of mine development at Inmaculada to access newly discovered veins
§ 2019 brownfield exploration budget estimated at $27 million with greenfield budget set at $10 million
|
$000 unless stated |
Year ended 31 Dec 2018 |
Year ended 31 Dec 2017 |
% change |
|
Attributable silver production (koz) |
19,700 |
19,141 |
3 |
|
Attributable gold production (koz) |
260 |
255 |
2 |
|
Revenue |
704,290 |
722,572 |
(3) |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
268,010 |
300,750 |
(11) |
|
Profit from continuing operations (pre-exceptional) |
18,225 |
53,355 |
(66) |
|
Profit from continuing operations (post-exceptional) |
6,701 |
53,881 |
(88) |
|
Basic earnings per share (pre-exceptional) $ |
0.05 |
0.08 |
(38) |
|
Basic earnings per share (post-exceptional) $ |
0.03 |
0.08 |
(63) |
Ignacio Bustamante, Hochschild Mining Chief Executive Officer said:
“2018 results reflect another strong year of record production and prudent cost control. The highlight of 2018 has been the discovery of significant additional resources surrounding our flagship Inmaculada mine and, in 2019, we anticipate another year of ambitious exploration with exciting drill targets at all our current operations. In addition, we expect further progress from a number of our growth options including greenfield opportunities, early stage projects and our strategic alliances.”
