Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC Quick QuoteKGC - Free Report) recorded a fourth-quarter 2023 profit from continuing operations of $65.4 million or 6 cents per share. This compares favorably with a loss of $106 million or 8 cents incurred in the year-ago quarter.

KGC reported adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, up from the prior-year quarter figure of 9 cents. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents.  

Revenues rose 3.7% year over year to $1,115.7 million in the fourth quarter. It topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $902.2 million.

Operational Performance

The company produced 546,513 gold equivalent ounces from continuing operations in the reported quarter, down 8.3% year over year. The figure topped our estimate of 501,971 gold equivalent ounces.

Average realized gold prices were $1,974 per ounce in the quarter, up 14% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The figure beat our estimate of $1,844 per ounce.

The production cost of sales per gold equivalent ounce was $976, up 15.1% from the prior-year quarter. This outpaced our estimate of $913. All-in-sustaining cost per gold equivalent ounce sold rose roughly 9.5% year over year to $1,353. This missed our estimate of $1,367.

Margin per gold equivalent ounce sold was $998 in the quarter, up from the prior-year quarter’s $883.

2023 Results

Earnings, as adjusted, for full-year 2023 were 44 cents per share compared with 22 cents a year ago. Net sales climbed 22.7% year over year to $4,239.7 million.

Financials

Cash and cash equivalents were $352.4 million at the end of the year, down around 15.7% year over year. Long-term debt was $2,232.6 million at the end of the quarter, down about 12.7%.

Outlook

For 2024, Kinross expects production to be 2.1 million gold equivalent ounces (+/- 5%). The company expects production cost of sales of $1,020 per gold equivalent ounce (+/- 5%) for the year, factoring in inflation and production mix. The company expects all-in-sustaining cost per gold equivalent ounce of $1,360 for 2024. Capital expenditures are predicted at $1,050 million (+/- 5%) for this year.

Price Performance

Shares of Kinross have surged 26.9% in the past year against a 7.5% fall of the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Kinross currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include United States Steel Corporation (X Quick QuoteX - Free Report) , Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS Quick QuoteCRS - Free Report) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. (AMR Quick QuoteAMR - Free Report) .

United States Steel carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). X beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 54.8%. The company’s shares have soared 56.1% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while matching it once, with the average earnings surprise being 12.2%. The company’s shares have soared 22.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMR’s current-year earnings has been revised upward by 69% in the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.  AMR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 9.6%, on average. AMR shares are up around 129.5% in a year.