Barrick’s (GOLD) Earnings and Sales Beat Estimates in Q3


Barrick Gold Corporation


GOLD

recorded net earnings (on a reported basis) of $882 million or 50 cents per share in third-quarter 2020, down from $2,277 million or $1.30 in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share surged 173.3% year over year to 41 cents. The figure also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents.

Barrick recorded total sales of $3,540 million, up 32.2% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,353.3 million.

Operational Highlights

Total gold production amounted to around 1.16 million ounces in the third quarter, down 11.6% year over year from 1.3 million ounces. Average realized price of gold was $1,926 per ounce in the quarter, up 30.5% year over year.

Cost of sales remained unchanged year over year at $1,065 per ounce. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) fell 1.8% year over year to $966 per ounce in the quarter.

Copper production declined 8.4% year over year to 103 million pounds. Average realized copper price was $3.28 per pound, up 28.6% year over year.

Financial Position

At the end of the third quarter, Barrick had cash and cash equivalents of $4,744 million, up 97.3% year over year. The company’s long-term debt was $5,140 million at the end of the quarter, down 6.4% year over year.

Net cash provided by operating activities surged 85.2% year over year to $1,859 million.

The company’s board also raised its quarterly dividend payout by 12.5% to 9 cents a share. The dividend is payable on Dec 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business as of Nov 30.

Guidance

For 2020, Barrick retained its annual production guidance. It continues to anticipate attributable gold production in the range of 4.6-5 million ounces. AISC is expected in the range of $920-$970 per ounce, unchanged from the prior view. Cost of sales is expected in the range of $980-$1,030 per ounce, unchanged from the previous guidance.

The company continues to expect copper production in the range of 440-500 million pounds at AISC of $2.20-$2.50 per pound and cost of sales of $2.10-$2.40 per pound.

Capital expenditures are projected between $1,600 million and $1,900 million.

Price Performance

Barrick’s shares have gained 73.5% in the past year compared with the

industry

’s 45% rally.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Barrick currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited


AEM

,

Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd.


NAK

and

B2Gold Corp


BTG

. While Agnico Eagle sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Northern Dynasty Minerals and B2Gold carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see


the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here


.

Agnico Eagle has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2020. Its shares have returned 39.5% in the past year.

Northern Dynasty Minerals has an expected earnings growth rate of 42.9% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 28.9% in the past year.

B2Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 250% for 2020. The company’s shares have gained 93.1% in the past year.

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