Agnico Eagle (AEM) Beats Earnings and Sales Estimates in Q1
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM delivered net income of $37 million or 16 cents per share in first-quarter 2019, down from $44.9 million or 19 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 14 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents.
Agnico Eagle generated revenues worth $532.2 million, down around 8% year over year. The decline was primarily caused by 3.5% fall in gold sales volume along with lower realized gold price. Nevertheless, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $513 million.
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Quote
Operational Highlights
Gold production rose 2.3% year over year to 398,217 ounces. Total cash costs per ounce were $623, down roughly 3.9% from $648 in the prior-year quarter.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were $836 per ounce, down 6% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of $889.
Financial Position
As of Mar 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents were around $190 million, down from around $452.3 million a year ago.
Long-term debt was $1,722 million at the end of the first quarter.
Total cash from operating activities amounted to $148.7 million in the reported quarter, down 28.4% year over year.
Outlook
Agnico Eagle reaffirmed production and cost guidance for 2019. Gold production for the year is projected at 1.75 million ounces. The projection includes pre-commercial production from Meliadine of roughly 60,000 ounces of gold and Amaruq of roughly 40,000 ounces of gold.
Total cash costs per ounce are projected between $620 and $670. AISC is expected in the range of $875-$925 per ounce.
The company expects roughly 55% of expected gold production for 2019 to materialize in the second half of the year.
Price Performance
Agnico Eagle’s shares have lost 2.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s 3.7% decline.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Agnico Eagle currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Sandstorm Gold Ltd. SAND, Flexible Solutions International Inc FSI and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. RS.
Sandstorm Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 200% for the current year and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have gained around 9.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Flexible Solutions has an expected earnings growth rate of 171.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have surged roughly 100% in the past year.
Reliance Steel has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have gained around 3.1% in the past year.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.
See Latest Stocks Today >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Flexible Solutions International Inc. (FSI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SAND) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
