In Wednesday trading, shares of Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL, Financial) were 5% higher on the heels of the company reporting its financial results for the fourth quarter. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of 34 cents. The company’s revenue of $212.36 million was also higher than the figure reported a year earlier, at 62.2% year-over-year.
Tony Makuch, the company's president and CEO, was pleased with the performance achieved in its operations, the organic growth and the shareholder returns. Further, it beat the target range for production and capacity to generate free cash flow of $178.0 million. The company almost doubled production, rising by 90% in 2017, or 10% on a pro forma basis.Â
The company's long-term goal is to reach a million ounces of annual production from existing mines by 2023 to 2025. To support increased shareholder value, the company included a buyback of 5.4 million shares and a quarterly dividend. It is also making strategic investments.
He added: “Looking at fourth quarter 2017, we achieved record production and generated strong earnings and free cash flow. Leading the way was Fosterville, where fourth quarter 2017 production totaled 79,157 ounces, operating cash costs were $226 per ounce sold, and AISC averaged $471 per ounce sold. We also achieved strong results from our Canadian operations, with both Taylor and Holt achieving record quarterly production and Macassa recording its second-best quarter ever.”
Shares of Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) lost ground today after the company posted its financial results for the fourth quarter. For the quarter, the company reported annual net sales growth of 41.6% to $3.98 billion, while its profit advanced to 38 cents, beating estimations by 25 cents. Moreover, the company beat analysts’ estimates by $460 million in revenue.
Dave Hager, the company's president and CEO, said, “Devon has reached an inflection point by building operating momentum across its U.S. resource plays and has successfully transitioned these world-class assets into full-field development.”
“In 2018 and beyond, with our low-risk development programs focused in the economic core of the Delaware Basin and STACK plays, we expect to deliver a dramatic step change in capital efficiency, achieve attractive corporate-level returns and generate substantial amounts of free cash flow at prices above our base planning scenario of $50 WTI pricing," he said.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
