Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
The precious metal has fallen about 8% from a record high on Oct. 31, with losses accelerating after Trump’s election victory last week.
According to Q1 results, Kirkland Lake Gold is headed for a profitable 2019. The company said its cash position was up 25% to reach $83.9 million. Operating cash flow grew 95% to $174.4 million, and that resulted in record free cash flow of $93.1 million, an 85% jump from Q1 2018 and up 8% over Q4 2018.
During the first quarter of this year, the company’s revenue grew 54% to a record $304.9 million, compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Record net earnings of $110.1 million – up 120% from Q1 2018 – and adjusted net earnings were $112.1 million, 114% higher than a year earlier.
Kirkland Lake also recorded production of 231,879 oz. of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $560/oz. Reserves at both the Macassa mine in Ontario and the Fosterville mine in Australia grew by 11% and 60%, respectively. At the end of 2018, reserves at all properties were 5.75 million oz. at 15.8 g/t gold, compared to 4.64 million oz. at 11.1 g/t gold at the end of 2017.
So much good news allowed the company to raise its quarterly dividend by 34% to $0.4 per share. At market close Tuesday Kirkland’s shares had jumped 6.3%, priced at C$44.17 on the TSE. The company has a C$9.29B market capitalization.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
