Pan American Silver Reports Unaudited 2018 Annual and Fourth Quarter Results

 

All financial figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

VANCOUVER, Feb. 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) (TSX: PAAS) today reported unaudited financial results for the year-ended December 31, 2018 ("YE 2018") and the fourth quarter ("Q4 2018"). These results are preliminary and could change based on final audited results. Preliminary operating results were previously reported on January 21, 2019.

• Annual revenue totaled $784.5 million, and net cash generated from operating activities was $155.0 million.
• Annual net earnings of $12.0 million ($0.07 basic earnings per share), and adjusted annual earnings of $59.4 million ($0.39 basic adjusted earnings per share).
• Annual silver production totaled 24.8 million ounces with all-in sustaining costs per silver ounce sold ("AISCSOS") of $10.73, or $9.68 excluding net realizable value ("NRV") inventory adjustments.
• Cash costs per payable ounce of silver, net of by-product credits ("cash costs") of $3.35 per ounce in 2018.
• Advanced the COSE and Joaquin mine developments for initial production in 2019.
• At December 31, 2018, the Company had cash and short-term investment balances of $212.5 million and working capital of $397.8 million. Year-end debt of $6.7 million related entirely to lease liabilities.

"Pan American's operations demonstrated solid performance in 2018, highlighted by the lowest cash costs on record since 2006. This performance resulted in strong cash flow generation and a healthy financial position at year end," said Michael Steinmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "Importantly, we advanced our strategy of developing new catalysts to generate value for shareholders. Our acquisition of Tahoe Resources will result in a more diversified Pan American with a strong portfolio of cash-generating assets and superior growth opportunities. In addition, our major exploration discovery at La Colorada demonstrates a significant opportunity for long-term organic growth."

Consolidated Q4 2018 Highlights:

• Revenue in Q4 2018 was $173.4 million, reflecting lower prices for all metals and lower quantities of silver, gold, and copper sold due to a build in inventories at San Vicente and La Colorada (approximate revenue impact of $8.4 million), as well as lower production at Dolores.
• Net cash generated from operating activities was $11.9 million.
• Net loss was $63.6 million ($0.42 basic loss per share), which included a $27.8 million impairment charge related to the Manantial Espejo/COSE/Joaquin assets, a $13.3 million reduction from NRV inventory adjustments, $10.2 million in costs related to the Tahoe Resources Inc. ("Tahoe") transaction, $8.2 million in tax expense from changes in foreign exchange rates, and a $4.7 million credit loss related to a third party refinery.
• The impairment of the Manantial Espejo/COSE/Joaquin assets reflects the impact of the new export tax introduced in Argentina in late 2018, and the decline in short-term consensus metal prices.
• Adjusted loss was $2.0 million ($0.01 basic adjusted loss per share).
• Silver production was 6.1 million ounces at cash costs of $6.12 per ounce. Q4 2018 cash costs were impacted by lower by-product metal prices and reduced gold production.
• AISCSOS were $15.86 in Q4 2018, or $13.36 excluding NRV inventory adjustments. AISCSOS were impacted by less silver ounces sold, lower by-product metal prices and higher sustaining capital expenditures.
• The Board of Directors has approved a cash dividend of $0.035 per common share, or approximately $5.4 million in aggregate cash dividends, payable on or about March 15, 2019, to holders of record of Pan American Silver's common shares as of the close on March 4, 2019. Pan American Silver's dividends are designated as eligible dividends for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada). As is standard practice, the amounts and specific distribution dates of any future dividends will be evaluated and determined by the Board of Directors on an ongoing basis.

The foregoing contains measures that are not generally accepted accounting principle ("non-GAAP") financial measures. Please refer to the "Alternative Performance (non-GAAP) Measures" section of this news release for further information on these measures.

Amended and Restated Credit Agreement

On February 1, 2019, the Company entered into an Amending and Restating Credit Agreement with a syndicate of banks to extend and increase its existing credit facility. In conjunction with the closing of the Tahoe transaction, the credit facility is expected to increase to $500 million and would mature on February 1, 2023.

Tahoe transaction

All required regulatory, shareholder and court approvals have been received for the plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"), whereby Pan American will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Tahoe. The Arrangement is anticipated to be completed on or about February 22, 2019.

Pan American receives award for social and environmental responsibility

Pan American is pleased to announce that Matt Andrews, Vice President Environment and Sustainability, and Monica Moretto, Director Sustainability, are the 2018 recipients of the Robert R. Hedley Award for Excellence in Social and Environmental Responsibility from the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME). In the AME's news release, dated December 6, 2018, announcing the 2018 winners, the organization states that Mr. Andrews' and Ms. Moretto's leadership "has created an environment within Pan American Silver Corp. of respect for social and environmental principles on all its projects".

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

MINE OPERATING RESULTS

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES⁽¹⁾

Sustaining capital of $105.2 million in 2018 was slightly above our forecast range of $100 to $105 million, reflecting higher pre-stripping and leach pad expansionary activities at Dolores, largely offset with savings on the tailings storage facility expansion at Huaron and deferral of certain exploration spending, infrastructure upgrades and equipment procurements.

Project capital of $41.3 million, compared with a forecast of $40 million, was directed at the COSE and Joaquin mine developments in Argentina, as well as investments at Dolores and La Colorada.

2019 GUIDANCE

There are no revisions to the guidance for 2019 that Pan American provided in its news release dated January 21, 2019, as provided in the table below. The guidance does not include the assets to be acquired under the Arrangement with Tahoe. Management intends to update the guidance to include these assets and allocation of new general and administrative costs in the second quarter of 2019. We may also revise guidance during the year to reflect actual results to date and those anticipated for the remainder of the year.

Additional details on the Company's 2019 guidance can be found in the January 21, 2019 news release entitled, "Pan American Silver Announces Preliminary 2018 Operating Results and Guidance for 2019" available at www.panamericansilver.com and as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Fourth Quarter and Year End 2018 Unaudited Results Conference Call and Webcast

Callers should dial in 5 to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The live webcast and presentation slides will be available on the Company's website at www.panamericansilver.com. An archive of the webcast will also be available for three months.

Corporate Office:

625 Howe Street, Suite 1440
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 2T6 Canada

Tel: +1 604 684-1175
Fax: +1 604 684-0147

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. is the world's second largest primary silver producer, providing enhanced exposure to silver through a diversified portfolio of assets, large reserves and growing production. We own and operate six mines in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia. Pan American Silver maintains a strong balance sheet, has an established management team with proven operating expertise, and is committed to responsible development. Founded in 1994, the Company is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and our shares trade on NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "PAAS".

For more information, visit: www.panamericansilver.com.

Alternative Performance (Non-GAAP) Measures

In this news release we refer to measures that are not generally accepted accounting principle ("non-GAAP") financial measures. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning as prescribed by IFRS as an indicator of performance, and may differ from methods used by other companies with similar descriptions. These non-GAAP financial measures include:

• Cash costs per payable ounce of silver, net of by-product credits ("cash costs"). The Company's method of calculating cash costs may differ from the methods used by other entities and, accordingly, the Company's cash costs may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. Investors are cautioned that cash costs should not be construed as an alternative to production costs, depreciation and amortization, and royalties determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of performance.
• Adjusted earnings (loss) and adjusted earnings (loss) per share. The Company believes that these measures better reflect normalized earnings as they eliminate items that in management's judgment are subject to volatility as a result of factors which are unrelated to operations in the period, and/or relate to items that will settle in future periods.
• All-in sustaining costs per silver ounce sold ("AISCSOS"). The Company has adopted AISCSOS as a measure of its consolidated operating performance and its ability to generate cash from all operations collectively, and the Company believes it is a more comprehensive measure of the cost of operating our consolidated business than traditional cash costs per payable ounce, as it includes the cost of replacing ounces through exploration, the cost of ongoing capital investments (sustaining capital), general and administrative expenses, as well as other items that affect the Company's consolidated earnings and cash flow.
• Net cash generated from operating activities before changes in working capital is calculated as "Net cash generated from operating activities" less "Changes in non-cash operating working capital", as shown on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The Company believes the exclusion of changes in non-cash operating working capital better reflects the cash from operating activities generated in the period. Net cash generated from operating activities before changes in working capital does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

Readers should refer to the "Alternative Performance (non-GAAP) Measures" section following the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in this news release for a more detailed discussion of these and other non-GAAP measures and their calculation.

Technical information contained in this news release with respect to Pan American has been reviewed and approved by Martin Wafforn, P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Technical Services & Process Optimization, who is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. For additional information about the Company's material mineral properties, other than the Joaquin property, please refer to the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 22, 2018, filed at www.sedar.com. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have no demonstrated economic viability.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: future financial or operational performance, including our estimated production of silver, gold and other metals in 2019 our estimated Cash Costs and AISCSOS in 2019, and our expectations with respect to future metal prices and exchange rates; the ability of the Company to successfully complete any capital projects, the expected economic or operational results derived from those projects, and the impacts of any such projects on the Company, the approval or the amount of any future cash dividends; our growth profile and opportunities as results of the Arrangement; the increase of our credit facility and the timing thereof; the anticipated completion date of the Arrangement; and any update of our guidance subsequent to completion of the Arrangement, and the disclosure and timing of any such update.

These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: the completion date of the Arrangement; the ability of the Company to realize the anticipated benefits and opportunities as a result of the Arrangement; access to capital and other financing, if required; tonnage of ore to be mined and processed; ore grades and recoveries; prices for silver, gold and base metals remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; our mineral reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions upon which they are based; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions at any of our operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for our operations are received in a timely manner; and our ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in silver, gold and base metal prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar, Peruvian sol, Mexican peso, Argentine peso and Bolivian boliviano versus the U.S. dollar); operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with, and claims by, local communities and indigenous populations; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices in the jurisdictions where we operate, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal restrictions relating to mining, including in Chubut, Argentina; risks relating to expropriation; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as properties are mined; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; and those factors identified under the caption "Risks Related to Pan American's Business" in the Company's most recent form 40-F and Annual Information Form, as well as those factors identified in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's management information circular dated December 4, 2018 with respect to the Arrangement, each filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities, respectively. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are designed to help readers understand management's current views of our near and longer term prospects and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not intend, nor does it assume any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, changes in assumptions, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE (NON-GAAP) MEASURES

All-In Sustaining Costs per Silver Ounce Sold ("AISCSOS")

AISCSOS is a non-GAAP financial measure. AISCSOS does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. We believe that AISCSOS reflects a comprehensive measure of the full cost of operating our consolidated business given it includes the cost of replacing silver ounces through exploration, the cost of ongoing capital investments (sustaining capital), general and administrative expenses, as well as other items that affect the Company's consolidated cash flow. To facilitate a better understanding of this measure as calculated by the Company, the following table provides the detailed reconciliation of this measure to the applicable cost items, as reported in the consolidated income statements for the respective periods:

As part of the AISCSOS measure, sustaining capital is included while expansionary or acquisition capital (referred to by the Company as non-sustaining capital) is not. Inclusion of sustaining capital only is a measure of capital costs associated with current ounces sold as opposed to project capital, which is expected to increase future production. For the periods under review, the items noted below are associated with the La Colorada and Dolores projects and are considered to be investment capital projects.

Cash Costs per Ounce of Silver, Net of By-Product Credits
Pan American produces by-product metals incidentally to our silver mining activities. We have adopted the practice of calculating the net cost of producing an ounce of silver, our primary payable metal, after deducting revenues gained from incidental by-product production, as a performance measure. This performance measurement has been commonly used in the mining industry for many years and was developed as a relatively simple way of comparing the net production costs of the primary metal for a specific period against the prevailing market price of that metal.

Cash costs per ounce metrics, net of by-product credits, is used extensively in our internal decision making processes. We believe the metric is also useful to investors because it facilitates comparison, on a mine-by-mine basis, notwithstanding the unique mix of incidental by-product production at each mine, of our operations' relative performance on a period-by-period basis, and against the operations of our peers in the silver industry on a consistent basis. Cash costs per ounce is conceptually understood and widely reported in the silver mining industry. However, cash cost per ounce of silver is a non-GAAP measure and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and the Company's method of calculating cash costs may differ from the methods used by other entities.

To facilitate a better understanding of these measures as calculated by the Company, the following table provides the detailed reconciliation of these measures to the production costs, as reported in the consolidated income statements for the respective periods:

Adjusted Earnings and Basic Adjusted Earnings Per Share

Adjusted earnings and basic adjusted earnings per share are non-GAAP measures that the Company considers to better reflect normalized earnings as it eliminates items that in management's judgment are subject to volatility as a result of factors which are unrelated to operations in the period, and/or relate to items that will settle in future periods. Certain items that become applicable in a period may be adjusted for, with the Company retroactively presenting comparable periods with an adjustment for such items and conversely, items no longer applicable may be removed from the calculation. The Company adjusts certain items in the periods that they occurred but does not reverse or otherwise unwind the effect of such items in future periods. Neither adjusted earnings nor basic adjusted earnings per share have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

The following table shows a reconciliation of adjusted loss and earnings for the year and three months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, to the net earnings for each period.

 

INDIVIDUAL MINE OPERATION HIGHLIGHTS

Mexico - La Colorada mine

 

Mexico - Dolores mine

 

Peru- Huaron mine

 

Peru - Morococha mine⁽¹⁾

 

Bolivia - San Vicente mine⁽¹⁾

 

Argentina - Manantial Espejo mine

 

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pan-american-silver-reports-unaudited-2018-annual-and-fourth-quarter-results-300799302.html

SOURCE Pan American Silver Corp.

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2019/20/c0780.html