Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS), the world’s second-largest primary silver producer, garnered adjusted earnings of US$35.4 million in Q2, the company said on Wednesday (August 8).
The company’s earnings were up from US$22.3 million this time last year, while net earnings were US$36.7 million compared to US$36 million during the same quarter in 2017.
“Our operations continue to generate robust cash flow with mine-operating earnings up 22 percent compared with the same quarter last year,” said Michael Steinmann, president and CEO.
“We are realizing the benefits of increased throughput from the expansions of our La Colorada and Dolores mines, in addition to strong performance and low costs across all our other mines during the quarter,” he added.
Silver production during the quarter remained steady at approximately 6.29 million ounces compared to 6.3 million a year ago. The company’s gold output rose from 37,710 ounces last year to 53,370 ounces.
The company noted that this year’s guidance for silver output is set at 25 to 26.5 million ounces, while the gold forecast is 175,000 to 185,000 ounces.
Pan American is maintaining its 2018 production guidance for all of the metals it produces with the exception of copper. Output of the base metal has been revised lower to a range of 9,000 to 10,400 tonnes, down from 12,000 to 12,500 tonnes.
The company also reported record low cash costs of 92 cents per silver ounce sold after by-product credits. These costs fell due to higher throughput, higher by-product credits and lower treatment and refining charges.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) per silver ounce sold were US$6.45 and the company lowered its guidance for cash costs to a range of US$2.80 to US$3.80 per ounce. It also dropped its AISC per silver ounce sold to a range of US$8.50 to US$10.
Pan American’s average realized silver price fell to US$16.40 an ounce from US$17.19 from this time last year, but prices for gold, zinc, lead and copper were all higher.
As of 2:45 p.m. EST on Thursday, Pan American was up 9.65 percent, trading at C$22.72.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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