Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE: WPM) stock fell over 0.3% on March 12th, 2021 (as of 10:19:53 UTC-5; Source: Google finance) after the company posted lower than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY 20. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Salobo produced 62,900 ounces of attributable gold, a decline of approximately 16% relative to the fourth quarter of 2019 due to lower throughput.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Vale’s Sudbury mines produced 7,800 ounces of attributable gold, which represents an increase of approximately 20% relative to the fourth quarter of 2019, due primarily to higher recoveries. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Antamina produced 1.9 million ounces of attributable silver, which represents an increase of approximately 44% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, mainly due to higher grades and throughput, partially offset by lower recovery.
Moreover, the company generated $208 million in operating cash flow in the fourth quarter resulting in record annual operating cash flow of over $765 million in 2020. The company’s net debt reduced by $275 million, resulting in a net debt position of $2 million during the period. The company declared quarterly dividend of $0.13 per common share. The total attributable gold Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources increased by 64%, mainly due to successful exploration at Salobo, which extended the orebody at depth.
WPM in the fourth quarter of FY 20 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 34 cents, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 28 percent to $286.21 million in the fourth quarter of FY 20, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue by 7.43%. The revenue growth is driven by a 33% increase in the average realized gold equivalent price; partially offset by a 3% decrease in the number of gold equivalent ounces sold.
For fiscal 2021, the company expects attributable production to be 370,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold, 22.5 to 24.0 million ounces of silver, and 40,000 to 45,000 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs) of other metals, resulting in production of approximately 720,000 to 780,000 GEOs. For the five-year period ending in 2025, the Company estimates that average production to amount to 810,000 GEOs. For the ten-year period ending in 2030, the Company projects that average annual production will amount to 830,000 GEOs.