Agnico Eagle (AEM) Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM logged profit of $331.7 million or $1.38 per share in fourth-quarter 2019 against a loss of $393.7 million or $1.68 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 37 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents.

The company generated revenues of $753.1 million, up 40% year over year.

Operational Highlights

Gold production rose 20.4% year over year to 494,678 ounces in the reported quarter. The figure includes pre-commercial production of 3,137 ounces at Canadian Malartic from the Barnat deposit. Total cash costs per ounce were $745, up from $608 in the prior-year quarter.

All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were $1,039 per ounce, up 21.9% from year over year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Quote

2019 Highlights

For 2019, net income was $473.2 million or $1.99 per share against net loss of $326.7 million or $1.40 per share a year ago.

Revenues increased 13.8% year over year to $2.5 billion.

Financial Position

Agnico Eagle ended 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of $321.9 million, up 6.6% year over year. Long-term debt was $1,364.1 million, down 20.8% year over year.

Total cash from operating activities amounted to $257.5 million in the fourth quarter, up 83.5% year over year.

Outlook

Agnico Eagle revised its production guidance for 2020.

Gold production for the year is now projected to be 1.875 million ounces, down from 1.9-2.0 million ounces stated earlier. The projection was lowered primarily due to changes to the mine plans at the Nunavut operations and LaRonde.

The company expects total cash costs per ounce between $725 and $775. AISC is expected to be $975-$1,025 per ounce. The increase in costs on a year-over-year basis is primarily due to a more conservative mining plan at LaRonde and continued ramp-up of the Nunavut operations.

Price Performance

Agnico Eagle’s shares have gained 36.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s 36.1% rally.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Daqo New Energy Corp. DQ, Sandstorm Gold Ltd SAND and Commercial Metals Company CMC.

Daqo New Energy has a projected earnings growth rate of 326.3% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 133.1% 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.

Sandstorm Gold has an estimated earnings growth rate of 166.7% for fiscal 2020. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company’s shares have rallied 25.7% in a year.

Commercial Metals currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a projected earnings growth rate of 20.2% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 32.7% in a year.

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