Wesdome Announces 2018 Third Quarter Financial Results
TORONTO, Nov. 08, 2018 -- Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX: WDO) (“Wesdome” or the “Company”) today announces third quarter (“Q3 2018”) financial results. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO, commented, “Production in Q3 2018 was positively impacted as the result of mining the first 303 stope in September, where the muck sample head grades averaged 38.5 grams per tonne, gold (“g/t”). As a result, production of 19,437 ounces at a head grade of 13.3 g/t was above reserve grade of 12.2 g/t at the Eagle River Underground Mine. Accordingly, cash and all-in sustaining costs for the quarter were $815 per ounce (US$624) and $1,160 (US$888) per ounce, respectively, 20% lower than Q3 2017. With the year to date cash costs of $894 (US$695) and all-in sustaining costs of $1,243 (US$965), on a per ounce basis, we expect to end the year with these cost metrics to be below the lowest end of our guidance of $925 (US$720) per ounce on cash costs and $1,350 (US$1,050) per ounce on all-in sustaining costs.”
“We attained the fourth consecutive quarter of free cash flow generation of $2.1 million ($0.02 per share) for the quarter. Eagle River Complex operations continue to fund all exploration, development, administrative expenses, and a $23 million exploration and development program at the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or Quebec.”
“Looking ahead to the remainder of 2018, at Eagle River, we are very well positioned to achieve our increased guidance range of 70,000 – 75,000 ounces (54,371 year to date, Q3 2018), and beat the low end of our cost metrics guidance.”
“At Kiena, we have completed all additional drift development for exploration platforms, and added one more drill for a total of 4 drills underground. One drill is testing the potential up-plunge extension, and one drill will begin shortly testing the flattening of the A Zone at depth. Initial resource calculation on the Kiena Deep A Zone will be released in December as planned. We view this resource statement as a snapshot in time as further step out drilling subsequent to the data collection for the resource estimation has provide evidence of the expansion of the resource. Additionally, the capping factor will be reassessed as the current 34.28 g/t Au is likely inappropriate for the mineralization discovered to date within the A Zone.”
Key operating and financial highlights in Q3 2018 include:
1. Gold production of 19,795 ounces (“ozs”) from the Eagle River Complex, a 28% increase over the same period in the previous year (Q3 2017: 15,493 ozs):
◦Eagle River Underground – 46,777 tonnes at a head grade of 13.3 g/t for 19,437 ozs produced, a 46% increase over the previous year (Q3 2017: 13,313 ozs).
◦Mishi Open Pit – 4,076 tonnes at a head grade of 3.4 g/t for 358 ozs produced (Q3 2017: 2,181 ozs).
2. Revenue of $28.9 million, a 37% increase over the previous year (Q3 2017: $21.2 million).
3. Ounces sold 18,401 at an average sales price of $1,571/oz (Q3 2017: 13,069 ounces at an average price of $1,619/oz).
4. Cash costs1 of $815/oz or US$624/oz, a 20% decrease over the same period in 2017 (Q3 2017: $1,013/oz or US$809/oz).
5. AISC 1 of $1,160/oz or US$888/oz, a 20% decrease over the same period (Q3 2017: $1,446/oz or US$1,154/oz).
6. Earned mine profit1 of $13.9 million, a 1.8 times increase over Q3 2017 (Q3 2017 - $7.9 million).
7. Operating cash flow of $12.8 million or $0.10 per share1, a 3.6 times increase over the previous year (Q3 2017: $3.5 million or $0.03 per share).
8. Free cash flow of $2.1 million or $0.02 per share1 (Q3 2017: outflow of $6.5 million or ($0.05) per share).
9. Net income of $3.6 million or $0.03 per share (Q3 2017: $0.3 million or nil, on a per share basis). Net income (adjusted) 1 for Q3 2018 was also $3.6 million or $0.03 per share (Q3 2017: $1.9 million or $0.01 per share).
10. Cash position of $30.7 million at September 30, 2018.
11. Refer to the Company’s Third Quarter 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis, section entitled “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” for the reconciliation of these non-IFRS measurements to the financial statements.
1 Refer to the Company’s Third Quarter 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis, section entitled “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” for the reconciliation of these non-IFRS measurements to the financial statements.
Exploration Highlights for Q3 2018
Eagle River
- Initial mining of the 300E Zone between the 864 and 844 metre level (“m-level”) has continued to confirm the
continuity of the strong grades and the geometry of the mineralized zone defined by drifts and the encompassing drill holes. The 303E Zone accounts for approximately 19% of the current mineral reserves and will continue to be the focus of mining development in Q4 2018 and into 2019.
- Mine development is being completed to provide drilling platforms on the 750 and 925 m-levels to further
define and explore extensions of the 300E and 7 zones as well as test the potential intersection of the No Name Lake zone with the mine diorite.
- A 10,000 metre (“m”) surface drilling program has commenced with 2 drills to identify new zones along
strike and to the east of the 7 and 300 zones at upper levels of the mine that would have the potential to positively impact the gold production from the Eagle River underground mine. In addition, a fourth underground drill has been added to test this area at depth.
Kiena
- Drilling of the Kiena Deep - A Zone is ongoing with 4 drill rigs. Recent drilling from the exploration ramp
has continued to intersect often multiple high grade lenses comprised of shear zone hosted quartz veins, including 177.3 g/t over 5.1 m core length (6.5 g/t cut, 5.1 m true width) in hole 6321 and 163.8 g/t over 3.0 m core length (13.1 g/t over 2.6 m true width) in hole 6338.
- Recent drilling continued to extend the zone of mineralization down plunge to the southeast. Following the
continued success of the ongoing diamond drill program, the Company extended the current exploration drifts by a total of 450 m.
- Recent drilling of the A Zone has identified a well-defined, moderate plunge of approximately 45 degrees to
the SE to the gold mineralization that occurs predominantly along the basalt – chlorite-carbonate schist boundary. It is now understood that the A Zone occurs along a connecting structure between the regional structures hosting the S50 and VC zones, respectively. Recent drilling has now extended the A zone to 600 m down plunge, and based on limited historic drilling, is interpreted to extend an additional 600 m up plunge to intersect the VC zone. This could significantly expand the potential resource base of the A Zone and will be the focus of drilling this year and into 2019.
- An updated mineral resource estimate is on schedule to be completed in Q4 2018.
Technical Disclosure
The technical content of this release has been compiled, reviewed and approved by Marc-André Pelletier, P. Eng, Chief Operating Officer, and Michael Michaud, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of the Company and each a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 -Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Reserves and Resources
The mineral reserve and resource estimates reported in this news release were prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) as required by Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) applies different standards in order to classify and report mineralization. This news release uses the terms “measured”, “indicated” and “inferred” mineral resources, as required by NI 43-101. Readers are advised that although such terms are recognized and required by Canadian securities regulations, the SEC does not recognize such terms. Canadian standards differ significantly from the requirements of the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories constitute or will ever be converted into mineral reserves. In addition, “inferred” mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, is economically or legally mineable or will ever be upgraded to a higher category of mineral resource.
2018 Third Quarter Financial Results Conference Call:
The Company’s 2018 Third Quarter Financial Results conference call will take place on November 9, 2018 at 10:00 am. ET. Conference details are found below.
North American Toll Free: + 1 (844) 202-7109 International Dial-In Number: +1 (703) 639-1272 Conference ID: 8497324 Webcast link: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/35univou
A webcast of the earnings call can also be accessed under the News and Events section of the Company’s website (www.wesdome.com)
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
Summarized Operating and Financial Data
(Unaudited, expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share and per unit amounts and otherwise indicated)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017
Operating data
Milling (tonnes)
| Eagle River | 46,777 | 44,421 | 134,635 | 117,959 |
| Mishi | 4,076 | 38,638 | 62,155 | 114,396 |
| Throughput2 | 50,854 | 83,058 | 196,790 | 232,355 |
Head grades (g/t)
Eagle River 13.3 9.7 12.2 10.3 Mishi 3.4 2.0 2.3 1.8
Recovery (%)
Eagle River 96.9 96.1 96.2 95.9 Mishi 80.9 87.2 82.5 84.9 Production (ounces)
| Eagle River | 19,437 | 13,313 | 50,602 | 37,498 |
| Mishi | 358 | 2,181 | 3,769 | 5,687 |
| Total gold produced 2 | 19,795 | 15,493 | 54,371 | 43,185 |
38,419 Total gold sales (ounces) 18,401 13,069 52,404
Eagle River Complex (per ounce of gold sold) 1 Average realized price $ 1,571 $ 1,619 $ 1,651 $ 1,656
| Cash costs | 815 | 1,013 | 894 | ||
| Cash margin | $ | 756 $ | 606 $ | 757 $ | 519 |
| All-in Sustaining Costs1 | $ | 1,160 $ | 1,446 $ | 1,243 $ | 1,594 |
| Mine operating costs/tonne milled1 | $ | 283 $ | 182 $ | 233 $ | 203 |
| Average 1 USD → CAD exchange rate | 1.307 | 1.2528 | 1.2878 | 1.3091 | |
| Cash costs per ounce of gold sold (US$)1 | $ | 624 $ | 809 $ | 695 $ | 869 |
| All-in Sustaining Costs (US$)1 | $ | 888 $ | 1,154 $ | 965 $ | 1,218 |
1,137
Financial Data
Mine profit 1 $ 13,898 $ 7,921 $ 39,629 $ 19,931 1,854 Net income $ 3,631 $ 296 $ 12,215 $ Net income adjusted 1 $ 3,631 $ 1,883 $ 12,215 $ 3,441 Operating cash flow $ 12,823 $ 3,541 $ 37,668 $ 13,757 (17,078) Free cash flow $ 2,137 $ (6,517) $ 7,315 $ Per share data
| Net income | $ | 0.03$ | 0.00 $ | 0.09$ | 0.01 |
| Adjusted net earnings1 | $ | 0.03$ | 0.01 $ | 0.09$ | 0.03 |
| Operating cash flow | $ | 0.10$ | 0.03 $ | 0.28$ | 0.10 |
| Free cash flow1 | $ | 0.02$ | (0.05) $ | 0.05$ | (0.13) |
Notes
1. Refer to the Company’s Third Quarter 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis, section entitled “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” for the reconciliation of these non-IFRS measurements to the financial statements.
2. Totals for tonnage and gold ounces information may not add due to rounding.
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (Unaudited)
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
September December 30, 31, 2018 2017 Assets
Current
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 30,714 $ | 22,092 |
| Receivables and prepaids | 1,472 | 3,821 |
| Tax receivable | 1,944 | 1,932 |
| Inventories | 7,498 | 5,314 |
| Total current assets | 41,628 | 33,159 |
| Deferred income tax assets | 308 | 5,450 |
| Mining properties, plant and equipment | 85,727 | 81,375 |
| Exploration properties | 75,725 | 59,929 |
| Total assets | $ 203,388 $ | 179,913 |
Liabilities
Current
| Payables and accruals | $ 18,533 $ | 17,003 |
| Deferred revenue | 2,329 | - |
| Mining and income taxes payable | 1,849 | 671 |
| Current portion of obligations under finance leases | 3,935 | 2,541 |
| Total current liabilities | 26,646 | 20,215 |
| Obligations under finance leases | 4,534 | 3,983 |
| Deferred mining tax liability | 7,001 | 6,300 |
| Decommissioning provisions | 11,505 | 11,192 |
41,690 Total liabilities 49,686
Equity
Equity attributable to owners of the Company
| Capital stock | 165,660 | 164,161 |
| Contributed surplus | 5,673 | 3,967 |
| Deficit | (17,631) | (29,905) |
| Total equity attributable to owners of the Company | 153,702 | 138,223 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $ 203,388 $ | 179,913 |
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited)
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars except for per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017
Revenues $ 28,920 $ 21,165 $ 86,580 $ 64,513 50,448 Cost of sales 20,599 15,594 59,768 Gross profit 8,321 5,571 26,812 14,065
Other expenses
| Corporate and general | 1,429 | 909 | 3,922 | 3,695 | |
| Share-based payments | 434 | 572 | 2,265 | 2,258 | |
| Kiena care and maintenance | 353 | 200 | 1,130 | 767 | |
| Restructuring costs | - | 2,159 | - | 2,159 | |
| Write-off of mining equipment | - | - | 290 | - | |
| 2,216 | 3,840 | 7,607 | 8,879 | ||
| Operating income | 6,105 | 1,731 | 19,205 | 5,186 | |
| Interest on long-term debt | (68) | (58) | (191) | (402) | |
| Accretion of decommissioning provisions | (105) | 54 | (313) | (196) | |
| Interest and other | 79 | (30) | 1,228 | (63) | |
| Income before income tax | 6,011 | 1,697 | 19,929 | 4,525 |
Mining and income tax expense Current 663 100 1,871 151
Deferred 1,717 1,301 5,843 2,520 2,671 2,380 1,401 7,714
Net income and total
comprehensive income $ 3,631 $ 296 $ 12,215 $ 1,854
Net earnings per share
Basic $ 0.03 $ 0.00 $ 0.09 $ 0.01 Diluted $ 0.03 $ 0.00 $ 0.09 $ 0.01
Weighted average number of common
shares (000s)
Basic 134,754 133,888 134,390 132,527 Diluted 137,836 135,481 135,827 134,830
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Total Equity (Unaudited)
For the nine months ended September 30, 2018
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
Equity Component of Capital Contributed Convertible Total Stock Surplus Debentures Deficit Equity Balance, December 31,2016 $ 156,402 $ 2,173 $ 932 $ (32,106) $ 127,401 Net income for the nine month period ended
| September 30, 2017 | - | - | - | 1,854 | 1,854 | ||
| Conversion of convertible debentures | 4,912 | - | (932) | 932 | 4,912 | ||
| Exercise of options | 1,915 | - | - | - | 1,915 | ||
| Value attributed to options exercised | 932 | (932) | - | - | - | ||
| Value attributed to options expired | - | (40) | - | 40 | - | ||
| Share-based payments | - | 2,258 | - | - | 2,258 |
$ Balance, September 30, 2017 $ 164,161 $ 3,459 - $ (29,280) $ 138,340
Balance, December 31,2017 $ 164,161 $ 3,967 $ - $ (29,905) $ 138,223 Net income for the nine month period ended
| September 30, 2018 | - | - | - | 12,215 | 12,215 | ||
| Exercise of options | 999 | - | - | - | 999 | ||
| Value attributed to options exercised | 500 | (500) | - | - | - | ||
| Value attributed to options expired | - | (59) | - | 59 | - | ||
| Share-based payments | - | 2,265 | - | - | 2,265 | ||
| Balance, September 30, 2018 | $ 165,660 $ | 5,673 $ | - $ (17,631) $ 153,702 |
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017
Operating activities
Net income $ 3,631 $ 296 $ 12,215 $ 1,854 Depletion and depreciation 5,577 2,350 12,817 6,766
| Share-based payments | 434 | 572 | 2,265 | 2,258 |
| Decommissioning provisions | 105 | (54) | 313 | 196 |
| Deferred mining and income tax expense | 1,717 | 1,301 | 5,843 | 2,520 |
| Interest on long-term debt | 68 | 58 | 191 | 409 |
| Accretion of discount on convertible debentures | - | - | - | 103 |
| Write-off of mining properties and fixed assets | - | - | 290 | - |
| Loss on disposal of equipment | - | - | - | 159 |
| 11,532 | 4,523 | 33,934 | 14,265 | |
| Net changes in non-cash working capital | 1,291 | (931) | 4,427 | (1,357) |
| Mining tax received (paid) | - | (51) | (693) | 849 |
13,757 Net cash from operating activities 12,823 3,541 37,668
Financing activities
| Repayment of convertible debentures | - | - | - | (2,091) |
| Exercise of options | 690 | 55 | 999 | 1,915 |
| Repayment of obligations under finance leases | (931) | (820) | (2,546) | (2,251) |
| Interest paid | (68) | - | (191) | (237) |
(2,664) Net cash used in financing activities (309) (765) (1,738)
Investing activities
| Additions to mining properties | (4,022) | (3,894) | (12,011) | (11,779) | |||
| Additions to exploration properties | (5,733) | (5,317) | (15,796) | (16,958) | |||
| Funds released from restricted cash | - | - | - | 6,920 | |||
| Proceeds on sale of equipment | - | - | - | 90 | |||
| Net changes in non-cash working capital | 1,236 | 368 | 499 | 488 | |||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (8,519) | (8,843) | (27,308) | (21,239) | |||
| Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 3,995 | (6,067) | 8,622 | (10,146) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 26,719 | 22,681 | 22,092 | 26,760 |
16,614 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 30,714 $ 16,614 $ 30,714 $
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
| Cash | $ | 21,633 $ | 3,095 $ | 21,633 $ | 3,095 |
| Term deposits | 9,081 | 13,519 | 9,081 | 13,519 | |
| $ | 30,714 $ | 16,614 $ | 30,714 $ | 16,614 |
ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome Gold Mines has had over 30 years of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Eagle River Complex in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold from two mines, the Eagle River Underground Mine and the Mishi Open pit, from a central mill. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or, Québec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930-metre shaft and 2,000 tonne-per-day mill. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Company has approximately 134.9 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WDO”.
For further information, please contact:
Duncan Middlemiss or Lindsay Carpenter Dunlop President and CEO VP Investor Relations 416-360-3743 ext. 29 416-360-3743 ext. 25 [email protected] [email protected]
220 Bay St., Suite 1200 Toronto, ON, M5J 2W4 Toll Free: 1-866-4-WDO-TSX Phone: 416-360-3743, Fax:
416-360-7620 Website: www.wesdome.com
This news release contains “forward-looking information” which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performance of the Company and its projects. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward- looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances, management’s estimates or opinions should change, except as required by securities legislation. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company has included in this news release certain non-IFRS performance measures, including, but not limited to, average realized price of gold sold; cash costs per ounce of gold sold; production costs per tonne milled; mine profit (loss); all-in sustaining costs per ounce of gold sold; free cash flow and operating and free cash flow per share; and net income (adjusted) and adjusted net earnings per share. These measures are not defined under IFRS and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to or more meaningful than, net income or cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our financial performance or liquidity. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash flow.
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