Coeur Trims 2Q Loss By Increasing Production, Lowering Per-Ounce Costs

(Kitco News) - Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE), a top-10 silver producer and also significant gold miner, trimmed its loss in the second quarter despite lower prices received for metals, with the company upping output and cutting costs.

Coeur reported a net loss of $16.7 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to a loss of $43.1 million, or 42 cents, in the second quarter of 2014.

Not counting special items, the adjusted loss for the April-June period was $14.5 million, or 11 cents per share, compared to $21.5 million, or 21 cents, a year ago.

Revenue of $166.3 million was the highest since the third quarter and up from $164.6 million in the second quarter of 2014.

Adjusted costs per silver-equivalent ounce were $12.56, down from $13.71 in the first quarter and $14 in the second quarter of 2014.  Adjusted all-in sustaining costs declined to $16.60, the lowest since Coeur began reporting this metric in 2013, down from $17.66 in the first quarter and $19.10 a year ago.

"In the second quarter, we achieved the strongest financial performance in two years despite the weakest realized silver and gold prices over this time frame," said Mitchell J. Krebs, Coeur's president and chief executive officer. "With nearly every mine outperforming initial cost and production targets, we are raising our production guidance and lowering our cost guidance for 2015. The notable exception is San Bartolomé, where July production was impacted by political disruptions in Bolivia, but is now fully operational.”

Second-quarter silver production was 4.3 million ounces and gold production was 80,855 ounces, or 9.1 million silver-equivalent ounces, a 12% year-on-year increase. However, with the downturn in prices of precious metals, the average realized price fell to $16.23 for an ounce of silver from $19.60 a year ago. The average realized gold price was $1,179, down from $1,277.

Coeur raised its 2015 production guidance by approximately 2% to between 33.1 million and 35.9 million silver-equivalent ounces. This consists of 14.7 million to 15.8 million silver ounces and 306,000 to 335,000 gold ounces, the company said.

Coeur also said that it is lowering its guidance for all-in sustaining costs per silver-equivalent ounce by approximately 3% to between $17 and $18. The revised guidance is mainly due to stronger-than-planned production and lower-than-expected costs at Palmarejo in Mexico and the Kensington gold mine in Alaska, partially offset by lower-than-expected production at San Bartolomé.

Coeur said it obtained a five-year, $100 million senior secured term loan and repaid a $50 million short-term bridge loan during the second quarter. This raised total debt to $547.7 million as of June 30, including $426.2 million in senior unsecured notes due in 2021. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $205.9 million at the end of the second quarter, yielding a net debt balance of $341.8 million, a 2% increase compared to March 31.

Courtesy: Kitco News