Barrick Gold on track to hit top end of production targets

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(Kitco News) - Barrick Gold reiterated its outlook that it will hit thetop-end of its 2021 guidance forecast as the company reported solid earningsfor the third quarter.

Thursday, ahead of the North American equity open, theworld's second-largest gold producer reported adjusted net earnings of $419million or 24 cents per share. The earnings slightly beat consensus estimates.The company's earnings were down more than 42% from last year.

Looking at production numbers, the senior producer said thatit produced 1.09 million ounces of gold between July and September. Totalproduction for the year is at 3.23 million ounces. The company also noted thatattributable copper production for the quarter was 100 million pounds.

Production was down 5% compared to last year's quarter.

The company reported operating cash flow of $1.05 billionand free cash flow of $481 million for the third quarter.

"More than two years after the merger, we are getting towhere we want to be, with the industry's best asset base in the form of sixTier One13 gold mines and a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality growthopportunities," said Barrick President and CEO Mark Bristow, in a statement.

"Barrick is driven by value creation and by any measure,we've been successful so far. But ours is a long-term vision which looks farbeyond our major operations' current 10-year business plans and our ceaselesspursuit of new opportunities is continuing to deliver exciting futureprospects," he added.

The company also raised its dividend to 9 cents per shareand announced that the third tranche of $250 will be paid to shareholders onDec. 15.

"We are pleased that the combination of our quarterlydividend and the $750 million return of capital distribution have provided ourshareholders with a record level of cash returns totaling approximately $1.4billion during 2021," said senior executive vice president and chief financialofficer Graham Shuttleworth.

By Neils Christensen

For Kitco News

Follow neils_Cnchristensen@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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