OceanaGold Corp's (ASX: OGC, TSE: OGC, NZX: OGC) shares surged 12% on Tuesday after the gold miner reported record quarterly earnings for the first quarter.
The gold producer, which paid down $20 million of debt during the period, saw its shares rise 11.6% on Tuesday afternoon, to C$2.79 in Toronto.
Since the beginning of the year, the stock has climbed more than 71%. OceanaGold ended the quarter with cash and available facilities of $92.1 million.
For the three months to March 31, the company, with operations in New Zealand and the Philippines, recorded a net profit of $58.9 million, or 19 cents per share, up from $7.06 million, or 2 cents per share, in the same period of 2013.
OceanaGold also saw record sales for the quarter, at $170.4 million, compared to $95.6 million a year earlier.
"We had another strong quarter of production and financial results with record quarterly revenue, EBITDA and net earnings on the back of higher sales and lower operating costs," said CEO Mick Wilkes.
Gold production came in at 86,568 ounces, including a record quarterly figure of 30,480 ounces from its Didipio operations in the Philippines. The company said overall output was 25% lower than the previous quarter, due to lower production from the New Zealand operations, partly offset by Didipio's performance. The Didipio process plant is on track to increase throughput rates to 3.5 million tonnes per year by the end of 2014.
The company recorded all-in sustaining costs of $450 per ounce, net of by-product credits. It said that it is expecting to produce in the range of 275,000 to 305,000 ounces of gold this year, with all-in sustaining costs of $750 to $850 an ounce.
OceanaGold also produced 6,479 tonnes of copper from its Didipio operations during the quarter and sold 7,752 tonnes, at an average realized price of $6,939 per tonne. The average gold price received during the period was $1,311 per ounce, according to the company's financial statements.
The gold miner said Tuesday gold production at its Macraes mine in New Zealand was lower than expected in the first quarter due to a lower mill feed and processing lower grade ore, but the company has since reoptimized its mine plan, resulting in mining less material than previous quarters. This has led to reduced operating costs and improved margins, OceanaGold said.
The company was recently in the news after announcing a pit wall failure at the Macraes open pit earlier this month, resulting in a temporary suspension of mining operations to reinstate access to the underground mine. Production from the underground restarted last week, and OceanaGold does not expect an impact to its full year guidance.
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