TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian miner Agnico Eagle experienced a third-quarter net loss of $15.1-million, or $0.07 a share, impacted by a noncash foreign currency translation loss on deferred tax liabilities of $11.3-million and other special items.
Excluding special items, the Toronto-based miner on Wednesday announced an adjusted profit of $4.2-million, or $0.02 a share, for the third quarter, which was significantly lower than average Wall Street analyst expectations of $0.14 a share.
Agnico Eagle recorded strong gold output in the quarter ended September 30, reporting 349 273 oz of payable metal at total cash costs per ounce on a by-product basis of $716, which compared with 315 828 oz produced in the same period last year at a cost of $591/oz.
Costs were driven up by lower gold output from Meadowbank, in Nunavut, scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns at the LaRonde mill, in Quebec, to upgrade the production and service hoist drives, and a two-week tie-in shutdown for the mill expansion at Kittila, in Finland.
Agnico Eagle highlighted that the newly acquired Canadian Malartic mine, also in Quebec, achieved record quarterly mill throughput and productivity, prompting it to announce that it expected to top the upper end of its full-year guidance of about 1.4-million ounces, with total cash costs on a by-product basis of $650/oz to $675/oz.
Further, the company reported that 2015 output was now expected to be about 1.6-million ounces, boosted by expected increased output at Meadowbank, Kittila and its Mexican operations – Pinos Altos and La India.
The board had approved the next quarterly dividend of $0.08 a share to be paid on December 15 to shareholders of record as of December 1, continuing an uninterrupted practise dating back to 1983.
Agnico Eagle’s NYSE-listed stock closed down 4.78% on Wednesday and in after-market trading lost 1.71% more at C$27.60 apiece.