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| Statement |
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| And finally, we are pleased to see continued progress towards full production at King of the Hills and Bellevue mines in Western Australia |
| Without direct exposure to operating and capital costs, we are protected from inflation pressure and margin compression, and we maintained our strong adjusted EBITDA margin of 79% |
| Our balance sheet is in great shape, and we have excellent liquidity to compete and take advantage of business development opportunities that may present themselves |
| In yesterday's report, Barrick commented that the focus for the first quarter will be the continued stability and optimization of the flotation circuit, which we expect should result in higher and more consistent silver recovery |
| 2023 was another year of consistent and solid performance from Royal Gold |
| Our operating cash flow was strong again this quarter at $101 million and in line with the prior year |
| This is a good development for both Royal Gold and Centerra, as it should allow for further value to be realized through mine life extension |
| At 80%, Royal Gold has the highest gold revenue percentage compared to our major peers in the royalty and streaming sector |
| Royal Gold will benefit from getting further exposure to metal prices over an extended mine life, and we are pleased to provide support to Centerra, as they review this potential |
| And during 2023, we took advantage of our strong cash flow to pay down the debt used to finance those transactions as well as continue our long record of increasing our dividend |
| This is the 23rd consecutive annual increase to our dividend, which is an unmatched record in the precious metals sector |
| We've had a very good experience in Botswana |
| Overall, the portfolio performance was solid for the year |
| Khoemacau is a high-quality operation, and we are pleased that M&G, a well-capitalized and experienced operator, will become the new owner after completing the acquisition, which is expected during the current quarter |
| Gold and silver prices were significantly higher, up 14% and 10%, respectively, and the price of copper was up 2% |
| Martin Raffield So Cortez overall in 2023 had a really strong year |
| As Bill mentioned, our strong cash flow during 2023 allowed us to repay $325 million on our revolver balance during the year |
| Net income for the quarter was up 11% over the prior year to $63 million or $0.95 per share |
| We ended the year in a very strong financial position with total available liquidity of approximately $845 million, made up of $750 million of undrawn revolver capacity and $95 million of working capital |
| We maintained alignment with our strategic goals of keeping a disciplined focus on gold, strengthening our balance sheet and increasing our capital return |
| Now, it kind of depends on the asset itself and the contract because in some cases, we have excellent information rights |
| Mount Milligan has a large resource base and exploration potential, and Centerra's plans include: completing a preliminary economic assessment in the first half of 2025 to evaluate resources and projects that could provide further mine life extensions; continuing exploration drilling around the mine; and completing a site optimization program to improve cash flow |
| And we maintained our low share count during the year to ensure that shareholders have full exposure to our growth |
| In the meantime, we're expecting production levels this year to remain in line with 2023 and then increase in 2025 through 2027 with the benefit of higher grades |
| And to the extent we can be a good financing partner in that process, we are always happy to do it |
| The increase in net income was primarily attributable to the lower cost of sales and DD&A expense, along with the $4 million impairment we recognized in the prior year on a non-principal exploration stage royalty interest |
| I don't want anybody to think that we sort of take the numbers and be more conservative on guidance so that hopefully we can exceed guidance |
| That's great |
| We paid approximately $100 million in dividends and keeping with our commitment to return capital to shareholders, and we raised our dividend again by 7% |
| And we've quickly reduced that to $250 million, increasing our total available liquidity at the end of the year to about $845 million |
| Statement |
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| Revenue was down 6% to $153 million for the quarter |
| The first was Peñasquito, where there was an unexpected four-month labor strike, and the second was the slower-than-anticipated ramp-up of the plant expansion of Pueblo Viejo |
| As Martin mentioned in his remarks, lower contributions from Mount Milligan, Pueblo Viejo, and Peñasquito were the main drivers for this quarter's lower revenue |
| However, as Bill mentioned, total sales of 315,600 GEOs with slightly below our 2023 guidance of 320,000 to 345,000 GEOs |
| This was due to underperformance at two of our principal properties, both of which we have discussed on our last earnings call |
| Our gold equivalent ounces or GEOs were slightly below our guidance range, as we indicated might occur during our third quarter conference call |
| While inflation pressures have eased from their peak, operating companies are still seeing cost inflation and margin erosion |
| Revenue from our Stream segment was lower compared to last year at $98 million |
| This guidance is significantly lower than the 2023 production at Cortez, and according to Barrick as it relates to grade reconciliation and resource model changes at crossroads that will reduce oxide mill feed |
| But my understanding was that we also have lost reserves and resources from this area as well |
| And just say, well, based on our experience, what we've seen at that mine historically, they may not achieve that recovery rate and they may not achieve that grade that they expect |
| Sometimes, amending agreements creates complications, and we just felt that in order to avoid some complications, it would be better to leave that agreement completely untouched |
| And so that's what we put in place, a structure that is unlikely to be drawn, just given the triggers of the commodity prices below $1,600 and $3.50 a pound in copper, so well below where we are with long-term consensus prices |
| We've had a long-term reluctance in South Africa |
| So, 2024 guidance for Barrick is now 620,000 to 680,000 ounces again on a 100% basis and this represents about a decrease of 27% from their 2023 production actual numbers to the midpoint of that 2024 guidance |
| And maybe my understanding, which may be different from yours and -- was that we have this fault that they thought was an area where they had high grade, and when they did additional confirmation drilling, the fault seemed to have -- was there that they hadn't expected and we lost these high-grade goals |
| The lower overall DD&A expense was due to a lower depletion rate at Pueblo Viejo, as well as decreased sales from Mount Milligan and Pueblo Viejo when compared to the prior year |
| We expect to provide full year guidance for 2024 early in the second quarter, which will reflect the lower production at Cortez and smaller organic growth assets that we have previously discussed like King of the Hills, Bellevue, Côté, Mara Rosa, and Manh Choh |
| Due to our revenue mix at Cortez, the overall decrease from our 2023 production GEOs of 49,000 is going to be in the region of 40% to 50% |
| Although, we did see an increase over the prior year, our cash G&A costs remained low at about 5% of total revenue |
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