Gold miner Newmont beats Q4 profit estimates, plans to divest six mines
(Reuters) -Newmont Corp, the world's largest gold miner, beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday and said it will divest six non-core assets.
The assets being divested include its Eleonore mine in Quebec and Porcupine mine in Ontario, along with two non-core projects including the Coffee mine in Yukon and Newcrest's Havieron mine in Western Australia.
Newmont said the proceeds from the divestments will partly help in reducing debt, with the company targeting near-term debt reduction of $1 billion. Its total debt at the end of 2023 stood at $8.8 billion.
The Denver, Colorado-based miner, which successfully acquired Australia's Newcrest for A$26.2 billion ($17.25 billion) in November, said it intends to focus on its 10 tier-1 assets, which would drive long-term growth, and forecast 2024 production of nearly 6.9 million gold ounces, compared with 5.5 million ounces in 2023.
«With the acquisition of Newcrest now complete, our principal focus for 2024 is to integrate and transform our leading portfolio of Tier 1 assets into a unique collection of the world's best gold and copper operations and projects,» said Newmont's CEO Tom Palmer.
Revenue for the quarter was $4 billion, up nearly 24% from a year earlier on higher sales volume and realized gold prices.
All-in-sustaining cost for gold, an industry metric that reflects total expenses associated with production, rose to $1,485 per ounce of gold for the quarter from $1,215 per ounce a year earlier.
Gold production rose 6.75% on a quarterly basis on higher production at nearly all of its and Newcrest's mines.
Newmont returned $1.4 billion to shareholders in 2023, compared to $1.7 billion in 2022. It now aims for a $1 billion share repurchase program over the next 24
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