Agnico Eagle Posts Record Gold Production, Dividend Rises

Agnico Eagle (TSE: AEM) (NYSE: AEM) achieved record gold production across all of its operations in 2021.

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Revenues & Earnings

Revenues from mining operations came in at $949.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, an increase of 2.2% from the prior-year quarter. Revenues came in at $3.83 billion for the full year, up 21.8% from $3.14 billion in 2020.

Net income was $101.11 million ($0.41 per diluted share) in Q4 2021, down from $205.22 million ($0.84 per diluted share) in Q4 2020. FY 2021 net income was $543 million, compared to $511.6 million in FY 2020.

Gold Production & Costs

The Toronto-based miner produced 2,030,176 ounces of gold company-wide in 2021, a record figure.

Excluding the Hope Bay mine, production costs per ounce were $835 for the full year, while total cash costs per ounce were $761, and all-in sustaining costs per ounce were $1,038.

Dividend Hike, New CEO

A quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share has been declared, an increase of 14% from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Ammar Al-Joundi, former chief executive of Barrick Gold, has been named president and chief executive officer of Agnico Eagle. Al-Joundi replaces Anthony Makuch, who participated in the recent merger between Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold.

A quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share has been declared (the previous quarterly dividend was $0.35).

CEO Commentary

Agnico Eagle president and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said, “The fourth quarter of 2021 was Agnico Eagle’s fifth consecutive quarter of over 500,000 ounces of gold production, which is particularly impressive given the impacts of COVID-19 during the latter part of the quarter. On a full year basis, in 2021 the Company achieved records in gold production, operating cashflow and mineral reserves, all while delivering the best safety performance in the Company’s 64-year history. Looking forward, all of our mines, both those contributed by Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold, are well positioned for another strong year in 2022, and well into the future. Furthermore, the Company is investing more than ever before at our mines and in exploration to build an even stronger business, in what we believe are the best places in the world to mine for gold.”

Wall Street’s Take

Three days ago, RBC Capital analyst Josh Wolfson kept a Buy rating on AEM with a price target of C$76.44. This implies 12.7% upside potential.

The rest of the Street is bullish about AEM with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys and two Holds. The average Agnico Eagle price target of C$90.96 implies an upside potential of about 33.8% to current levels.

TipRanks’ Smart Score

AEM scores a 4 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock should perform in line with the overall market.

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