Evolution Mining may have logged a fall in gold production for the
2018 financial year but the miner has plenty to cheer about in other
areas of its performance.
The gold miner’s output fell by 5 per
cent during the fiscal campaign to 801,187oz, which was in the upper
part of the company’s guidance despite the drop.
Evolution
excelled elsewhere, including record low all-in sustaining costs (AISC)
of $797/oz, a 12 per cent fall on the previous year and below its
$820–$870/oz guidance.
The company’s highlights extended to records for its net profits (up
21 per cent); sales revenue (up 4 per cent); earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortisation (up 11 per cent); operating mine
cash flow (up 15 per cent); and net mine cash flow (up 17 per cent).
Evolution
chairman Jake Klein said the results demonstrated the continued
delivery of the company’s strategy of improving the quality of its asset
portfolio to build a business that prospers through the cycle.
“Despite
lower production, Evolution achieved records on almost every other
metric, which is the result of prioritising profitability over
production and focusing on high quality, low cost long life assets,”
Klein said.
“We continue to demonstrate that gold mining can be a highly profitable, cash generating, dividend paying sustainable business.”
Evolution’s
financial year included the sale of its Edna May operation in Western
Australia to Ramelius Resources for $90 million.
In the 2019 financial year, Evolution has forecasted gold production of 720,000–770,000oz at AISC in the range of $850–$900/oz.
The
company will spend up to $180 million on its assets, including the bulk
on expansion projects at the Cowal operation in New South Wales, such
as mine development and a float tails leach investment.
It will also allocate funds to mine development at the Mt Carlton, Mt Rawdon and Cracow mines.
Evolution
plans to spend between $40 million and $55 million on exploration, a
significant increase on the $31.6 million it invested during the 2018
financial year.