Kinross Gold's (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) shares were up 6.25% on Friday, after reporting Q4 results this week. The company produced 2.45 million gold-equivalent ounces last year, with record production from its Paracatu mine in Brazil and its Bald Mountain mine in Nevada, and forecasts company-wide production this year will be similar to 2018.
The company reported an attributable all-in cost per oz. sold on a by-product basis of $961 per Au eq. oz. sold in Q4 2018 and $965 per Au eq. oz. sold in 2018. All-in sustaining cost per Au oz. sold on a by-product basis was $955 in Q4 2018 and $959 per Au oz. sold in 2018.
2018 capex came in at $1.04 billion, up from $897.6 million for 2017, largely due to increased spending at Round Mountain, Bald Mountain and TasiastThe Toronto-headquartered company posted a headline loss of $23.6 million or $0.02 per share, compared with net earnings of $445.4 million or $0.36 per share in 2017. The change was primarily a result of decreased operating earnings, a reversal of impairment charges related to the sale of Cerro Casale in 2017, and an increase in 2018 income tax expenses.
Operating cash flow generated reached $790 million in 2018 and at the end of the year Kinross had cash and equivalents of $349 million, $1.9 billion in liquidity, and no debt maturities until 2021.This year the company forecasts capital expenditures of $1.05 billion.
Full-year capex came in at $1.04 billion, up from $897.6 million for 2017, largely due to increased spending at Round Mountain, Bald Mountain and Tasiast, partially offset by lower spending at Paracatu and Chirano.
"We expect to deliver another strong year in 2019, producing approximately 2.5 million gold equivalent ounces at costs similar to 2018. Our development projects are proceeding well, and we look forward to a number of milestones this year, including the start of commissioning of the Bald Mountain Vantage Complex processing circuit and completion of the Lobo-Marte scoping study in the first quarter; the start of commissioning of the Round Mountain Phase W processing circuit in the second quarter; and, the completion of the La Coipa Restart feasibility study and the start of stripping at Fort Knox Gilmore in the third quarter," said J. Paul Rollinson, Kinross President and CEO, in a media statement.
With files from The Northern Miner