Eldorado swings to Q1 headline loss, homes in on project pipeline

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Geographically diversified Canadian gold producer Eldorado Gold has swung to a first-quarter headline loss of $700 000, or nil a share, as gold sales volumes fell 27% year-on-year, along with slightly lower gold prices, resulting in a 29% drop in gold revenues.

The company reported adjusted net earnings of $19.5-million, or $0.03 a share, in the comparable period of 2015.

Eldorado reported consolidated gold output of 140 989 oz, down 25% year-on-year, at an average cash operating cost of $603/oz, compared with $521/oz a year earlier.

Gold revenues totalled $160-million in the period, derived from sales of 133 467 oz of gold at an average realised gold price of $1 198/oz. All-in sustaining cash costs averaged $886/oz.

At the end of the quarter, the company had liquidity of $611.3-million, including $236.3-million in cash, cash equivalents and term deposits, as well as $375-million in unused lines of credit.

The loss attributable to shareholders of the company was $2.5-million, or nil a share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $8.2-million, or $0.01 a share, in the first quarter of 2015.

Eldorado president and CEO Paul Wright advised that, during the first four months of the year, the company had focused on moving forward with extracting value from its Chinese portfolio, having agreed to sell its interest in the Jinfeng mine for $300-million in late April.

Wright noted that further work on the remaining group of Chinese assets was ongoing.

In Greece, the company made progress in the development of its Greece portfolio. During the period, the company had received the Skouries technical study and building permit, and the Olympias Phase II installation permit. He stated that productive discussions continued with the Greek Environment and Energy Minister.