Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd (TSX-V:SCZ, OTC:SZSMF) CEO Arturo Préstamo joined Proactive to talk through the silver miner’s second quarter financial results, which included revenue of about $70 million and a gross profit close to $16 million.
He highlights production was steady with output of 500,000 tons of material during the quarter, with expectations that production will stay within that range in Q3 and Q4.
Proactive: The company put out some news about your Q2 financial numbers and, strong numbers, which are very positive in Q2 overall. Are you happy with what you're seeing there?
Arturo Préstamo: Well, we saw around $70 million in revenues, gross profit there of about $16 million. We experienced a non-cash charge of $7 million, which, of course, affected a little bit our net income, but nonetheless, we're happy. We'll keep working and hopefully Q3 and Q4 will keep, showing strong numbers as well.
Production was 500,000 tons of material during the second quarter. Do you think you can stay at that position or hope to actually even do more?
Well, at least for Q3 and Q4, we will remain at that level. We need to consolidate matters there. But yes, we will be in that in that range, give or take, in the in that same range.
Do you see some positivity for the rest of the year? Obviously, these numbers are showing the trajectory moving forward. And you, you're hoping to continue that for the rest of this year?
Definitely. We see an improvement in the quality of our product. I mean, the recoveries in our mills, especially at Caballo Blanco. We'll see an improvement as well in Zimapan in Mexico. So overall we do see an improvement for Q3 and and sustain for Q4. So this should be a good, good year overall for the company.
I know you don't control prices of commodity prices or anything like that, but are you feeling some positivity about the commodity prices as you move forward this year?
Absolutely, yes. We feel a positive trend, especially for zinc and silver, which are the two most important commodities for us. And we're positive for the rest of the year and for a few years to come. Absolutely.
All in all, I think you're happy with where the company is sitting right now and the work that you've done last year and leading into this year to really set you up for what sounds like is going to be a big step forward for the team and the company in general.
Absolutely. We were preparing the company for these moments. The restructuring with Glencore was an instrumental one. And then, fine-tuning our operations and making sure that they are profitable and more efficient, it's what is bringing us to a stronger company nowadays. And, we hope from here on how to keep building.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style