Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) Corporation KGC logged profits of $783.3 million or 62 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2020, up from $521.5 million or 41 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at 27 cents per share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents.
Revenues rose 20% year over year to $1,195.1 million, partly supported by higher average realized gold prices.
Kinross Gold Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Kinross Gold Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Kinross Gold Corporation Quote
Operational Performance
Attributable gold equivalent ounces produced in the reported quarter totaled 624,032 ounces, down 3.3% year over year. The downside was mainly due to lower production at Bald Mountain, Round Mountain and Chirano. This was offset by higher production at Tasiast and Paracatu.
Record high annual production and low cost of sales per ounce sold was delivered by Tasiast in 2020 for the second consecutive year. Fort Knox Gilmore project was also completed on time and within budget. The company maintained operations throughout 2020 and delivered on original annual production, cost and capital expenditures despite the pandemic.
Average realized gold prices were $1,875 per ounce in the quarter, up 26.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.
Production cost of sales per gold equivalent ounce was $682 in the quarter, down 8.3% from $744 in the prior-year quarter on reduced costs at Paracatu, Fort Knox and Round Mountain. All-in sustaining cost per gold equivalent ounce sold fell 3.5% year over year to $1013.
Margin per gold equivalent ounce sold was $1,193 in the quarter, up 61% year over year.
FY20 Results
Earnings (as reported) for full-year 2020 were $1.07 per share compared with earnings of 57 cents per share a year ago. Net sales gained 20.5% year over year to $4,213.4 million.
Financial Review
Adjusted operating cash flow jumped 36% year over year in the fourth quarter to $527.6 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $1,210.9 million as of Dec 31, up 110.6% year over year.
Long-term debt was $1,424.2 million at the end of 2020, down 22.5% year over year.
Outlook
For 2021, Kinross expects to produce 2.4 million gold equivalent ounces at production cost of sales of $790 per gold equivalent ounce.
All-in sustaining cost per ounce for 2021 is projected at $1,025. Capital expenditures are predicted at around $900 million (+/- 5%) for this year.
Price Performance
Shares of Kinross have rallied 46.2% in the past year compared with 22.5% rise of the industry.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Kinross currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Buy).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Fortescue Metals Group (OTC:FSUGY) Limited FSUGY, BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) BHP and Impala Platinum (OTC:IMPUY) Holdings Limited IMPUY.
Fortescue has a projected earnings growth rate of 74.2% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have surged around 143.6% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BHP has an expected earnings growth rate of 59.5% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have gained around 33.3% in the past year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.
Impala has an expected earnings growth rate of 189.4% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have rallied around 55.1% in the past year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
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