Yahoo Finance B2Gold (BTG) Reports High Q4 Gold Production & Sales, Gives View
B2Gold Corp’s BTG total gold production in fourth-quarter 2021 came in at 304,897 ounces (including 16,048 ounces of attributable production from Calibre Mining Corp.), up 13% year over year. The consolidated gold revenues during the October-December period came in at $526 million, up from $480 million reported in the prior-year quarter.
The company reported consolidated gold production of 288,849 ounces from its three operating mines during the December-end quarter, up 12.6% year over year.
Consolidated gold revenues improved 9.5% in the fourth quarter owing to a 14% increase in the gold ounces sold, partly offset by a 3.6% decline in the average realized gold price. In the fourth quarter, the company sold 292,350 ounces of gold at an average price of $1,800 per ounce compared with the 256,655 ounces sold at an average price of $1,868 per ounce in the year-ago period.
B2Gold delivered a record 2021 total annual gold production of 1,047,414 ounces (including 59,819 ounces of attributable production from Calibre), despite ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. This denotes the company’s thirteenth consecutive year of record annual total gold production. The figure came near the top end of its guidance of 1,015,000-1,055,000 ounces. In 2020, the company had reported total gold production of 1,040,737 ounces.
B2Gold generated annual consolidated gold production from three operating mines of 987,595 ounces, which came near the top end of its guidance of 965,000-995,000 ounces. The consolidated gold production in 2020 was 995,258 ounces. The company witnessed solid performances across its three operating mines, with record annual gold production from the Masbate and Otjikoto mines in 2021.
B2Gold’s consolidated gold revenues were $1.76 billion in 2021, down 1.7% year over year. The downside was due to a 2.5% decline in the gold ounces sold, partly offset by a 1% increase in the average realized gold price.
The company is well poised to gain from strong operational and financial performance in the current year. B2Gold expects total gold production between 990,000 ounces and 1,050,000 ounces for the current year. Total cash operating costs are projected between $620 and $660 per ounce. Total All-in sustaining cost (AISC) is anticipated to be $1,010-$1,050 per ounce. These costs are expected to be higher than 2021, thanks to higher budgeted prices for fuel, labor and other key consumables stemming from the ongoing cost inflation.
Consolidated gold production from B2Gold’s three operating mines is expected between 950,000 ounces and 1,000,000 ounces for the current year. Due to the timing of high-grade ore mining at both the Fekola and Otjikoto mines, the company’s current year consolidated gold production is expected to be significantly weighted to the second half of 2022 when mining is scheduled to reach the higher grade Zones of Phase 6 of the Fekola Pit and Phase 3 of the Otjikoto Pit.
Last month, B2Gold entered into an agreement with the Mali government related to issuing a permit for the Menankoto exploration near the Fekola mine. In exchange of this permit, the company stated that it will withdraw the arbitration proceedings that its Malian subsidiary, Menankoto SARL, started in June against the Republic of Mali over the denial of an extension for the Menankoto exploration permit. The government agrees to grant a new exploration permit covering the same perimeter as the Menankoto permit to a new Malian subsidiary of B2Gold.
B2Gold continues to update the Fekola Mine Plan to include production from Cardinal Zone, which has the capacity to add an average of roughly 60,000 ounces per year to Fekola's annual gold production over the next six to eight years. For 2022, the mine expects gold production between 570,000 ounces and 600,000 ounces.
B2Gold intends to pursue additional internal growth through further exploration, development and expansion of the existing projects, following a very successful year for exploration in 2021. The company is planning for heavy exploration this year, with an approximately $65-million budget, including $29-million high-quality targets for the ongoing grassroots exploration programs. The company expects to generate an operating cash flow of $625 million for 2022, assuming a gold price of $1,800 per ounce.
Price Performance
B2Gold’s shares have lost 25.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 6.8%.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
B2Gold currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Commercial Metals Company CMC, Haynes International, Inc. HAYN and AdvanSix Inc. ASIX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Commercial Metals has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.5% for the current fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC’s current-year earnings has been revised 6.6% upward in the past 60 days.
Commercial Metals’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average being 7.4%. CMC has gained 69% over a year.
Haynes has an expected earnings growth rate of 298.6% for fiscal 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2022 earnings has been revised 53.2% upward in the past 60 days.
Haynes’ bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 83.1%. HAYN has rallied 76.7% over a year.
AdvanSix has an expected earnings growth rate of 194.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has moved 14.1% north in the past 60 days.
AdvanSix’s bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 47%. ASIX has soared 127.6% over a year.
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