Royal Gold (RGLD) Earnings Beat, Sales Lag Estimates In Q1

Royal Gold, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:RGLD) adjusted earnings per share of 60 cents in first-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended Sep 30, 2019) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents. The company had reported earnings per share of 23 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Including discrete income tax benefits of 49 cents per share, primarily related to Swiss tax reform, and a loss on changes in fair value of equity securities of 2 cents per share, earnings came in at $1.07 per share in the reported quarter.

The company generated revenues of $118.8 million, up 19% year over year. This can be attributed to increase in stream revenues and higher average gold and silver prices. However, the top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate $133 million. Stream revenues came in at $87 million, up from the year-ago quarter’s $70 million, driven by an improvement in gold and copper sales at Mount Milligan, which was partially offset by lower gold sales at Andacollo owing to timing of deliveries.

Royal Gold, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Royal Gold, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Royal Gold, Inc. Quote

Operational Highlights

Royal Gold reported volume of 80,700 GEOs (Gold Equivalent Ounces), which declined 2.1% from the year-earlier quarter. Average gold price was up 21% to $1,472 per ounce from the year-ago quarter.

The company reported cost of sales of $20 million in the reported quarter, up from the year-ago quarter’s $17 million. General and administrative expenses declined to $7 million from $10 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Operating profit came in at $48.8 million, up from the $25.3 million reported in the year-ago comparable period.

Financial Position

Net cash provided by operating activities was $71 million in first-quarter fiscal 2020 compared with $45 million in the prior-year quarter. The company ended the quarter with $122 million cash in hand, up from $117 million reported at the end of the prior-year quarter. As of the end of the reported quarter, the company’s total debt was around $165 million, down from $216 million at the end of the prior-year quarter. The company paid out dividends worth $17.4 million during the reported quarter.

Share Price Performance

Over the past year, Royal Gold has gained 49.3% compared with the industry’s growth of 53.6%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Royal Gold currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) , Franco-Nevada Corporation (TSX:FNV) and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kinross has an expected earnings growth rate of a whopping 210% for 2019. The company’s shares have surged 80% in the past year.

Franco-Nevada has a projected earnings growth rate of 39.3% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have rallied 49% in a year’s time.

Agnico Eagle has an outstanding estimated earnings growth rate of 168.6% for the current year. Its shares have moved up 67% over the past year.

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