Osisko Gold Royalties lifts earnings on record ounces earned

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Intermediate precious metal royalty company Osisko Gold Royalties has reported higher earnings for the first quarter ended March, as record ounces earned boosted the top and bottom lines.

The company’s portfolio of royalty and stream interests delivered a quarterly record 10 418 gold-equivalent ounces, up 9% year-on-year as increased output at Canadian Malartic (Quebec), Island Gold (Ontario) and Vezza (Quebec), as well as the company’s first delivery of silver from the recently acquired Taseko Mines silver stream (Gibraltar copper mine, British Columbia) pushed production higher, offset by lower output at the Éléonore mine.

Net earnings attributable to Osisko shareholders was C$4.1-million, or C$0.04 a basic share, compared with a net loss of C$100 000, nil per share in the comparable year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings totalled C$6.6-million, or C$0.06 a share, compared with C$8.7-million, or C$0.09 in the same period of 2016, and just shy of earning the C$0.07 analysts were looking for.

Cash flow per share before changes in working capital came in at C$0.12

The company finished the quarter with C$423.6-million of cash and equivalents, and since quarter-end has acquired additional shares of Barkerville Gold Mines for C$28.1-million, bringing the company’s holdings to 35.2%. The company also acquired a further 0.75% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on Barkerville’s Cariboo gold project, in British Columbia, for cash of C$12.5-million, which increased the NSR held by Osisko Gold Royalties to a total of 2.25%.

After reporting the results Thursday, the company’s TSX-listed stock on Friday traded mostly in positive territory, adding 2.3% at C$14.21 apiece in the afternoon session.