Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. WPM reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 36 cents in fourth-quarter 2023, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents. The bottom line improved 57% year over year.

The company generated revenues of $313 million in the reported quarter, up 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. The upside was driven by a 13% increase in the average realized gold equivalent price and a 17% rise in Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEOs) sold. The top line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $284 million.

Wheaton’s gold production was 113,359 ounces, up 64.2% from the prior-year quarter’s 69,027 ounces. Attributable silver production declined 20.6% year over year to 4,208 ounces and palladium production increased 8.8% to 4,209 ounces. The company produced 174,222 GEOs in the December-end quarter, up 21.9% from the prior-year quarter’s 142,887 GEOs.

Prices

In fourth-quarter 2023, the average realized gold price was $1,931 per ounce. The figure was 11.9% more than the year-ago quarter. Silver prices were $23.64 per ounce in the reported quarter, up 9.9% year over year. Palladium prices were $1,329 per ounce compared with the prior-year quarter’s $1,939.

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Quote

Financial Position

The company had $546.5 million of cash on hand at the end of 2023 compared with $696 million at the end of 2022. It recorded an operating cash flow of $751 million in 2023 compared with $743 million in 2022. The company has a $2-billion undrawn revolving credit facility.

In the fourth quarter, the company announced a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share.

2023 Performance

Wheaton reported an adjusted EPS of $1.18 in 2023 compared with $1.12 in the prior year. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13.

Sales dipped 4.6% year over year to $1.02 billion. However, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.99 billion.

2024 Guidance

Wheaton projects attributable production between 550,000 GEOs and 620,000 GEOs for 2024. Notably, it produced 584,389 GEOs in 2023. Gold production is expected to be 325,000-370,000 ounces, suggesting a slight decline from the 374,585 produced in 2023. Silver production is projected between 18,500 and 20,500 ounces, indicating growth from the 17,176 ounces reported in the prior year. The production of other metals is anticipated to be 12,000-15,000 GEOs in 2024. WPM produced 12,275 GEOs of other metals in 2023.