Kinross Gold (TSX: K) has announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results, with quarterly metal sales rising to $1.42 billion from $1.12 billion in the same period of 2023, reflecting higher realized gold prices of $2,663 per ounce compared with $1,974 a year earlier.
This lift drove fourth-quarter operating earnings to $501.1 million, more than doubling from $193.5 million in the prior-year quarter.
Net earnings stood at $275.6 million, or $0.22 per share, against $65.4 million, or $0.06 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net earnings meanwhile climbed to $240.0 million, or $0.20 per share, from $140.0 million, or $0.11 per share in the year ago period.
On an annual basis, total metal sales climbed to $5.15 billion from $4.24 billion in 2023, mostly due to stronger realized prices that averaged $2,393 per ounce for 2024 compared with $1,945 in the previous year. Gross profit then increased to $1.88 billion versus $1.16 billion in 2023.
Full-year reported net earnings reached $948.8 million, or $0.77 per share, up from $416.3 million, or $0.34 per share, in 2023. After adjusting for items such as tax adjustments and prior impairments, adjusted net earnings remained elevated at $838.3 million in 2024, or $0.68 per share, above the $539.8 million, or $0.44 per share, recorded in 2023.
Net cash flow provided from operating activities increased to $734.5 million in the fourth quarter from $410.9 million the previous year. For the full year, operating cash flow was $2.45 billion, a jump from $1.61 billion in 2023.
Attributable free cash flow for the quarter came in at $434.4 million, up from $116.7 million a year ago, while the full-year figure more than doubled to $1.34 billion from $559.7 million in 2023. These results facilitated an $800 million debt repayment during 2024 and a subsequent $200 million repayment in February 2025, fully retiring Kinross’ $1.0 billion term loan.
The company spent approximately $1.08 billion in capital expenditures in 2024, roughly in line with $1.10 billion in 2023.
On the balance sheet, Kinross ended the year with $611.5 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $352.4 million at year-end 2023, putting total current assets at $2.13 billion. Current liabilities ended at $1.06 billion.
The fourth quarter saw 501,209 attributable gold equivalent ounces produced, below the 546,513 produced in Q4 2023, influenced by planned lower grades and maintenance at Tasiast and Paracatu. Year over year, total attributable production came in near expectations at 2.13 million gold equivalent ounces, slightly down from 2.15 million in 2023.
Tasiast delivered record full-year throughput and remains the company’s highest-margin asset, although quarter-over-quarter production moderated. Paracatu produced more than 500,000 ounces for the seventh year running, yet its annual volume was marginally lower. Fort Knox registered a sharp production increase thanks to higher-grade ore from the Manh Choh project, while Round Mountain and Bald Mountain reported mixed results due to varying heap leach recoveries and grade profiles.
Despite these fluctuations, Kinross plans to keep annual production stable at around 2.0 million ounces from 2025 through 2027, acknowledging that cost of sales per ounce may rise to $1,120 this year from $1,021 in 2024 and that all-in sustaining costs may move to $1,500 from $1,388.
The company has declared a $0.03 dividend per share, payable on March 20, and continues to stress capital discipline, debt reduction, and project optimization.
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