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(Reuters) -Barrick Gold Corp, on Wednesday announced a share repurchase of up to $1 billion and a bigger dividend payout as the gold miner’s fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates.
Barrick’s U.S.-listed shares were up 1.2% in pre-market trading. Revenues of $3.310 billion were up 17% from the previous quarter, beating analysts’ estimate of $3.147 billion, while net earnings more than doubled from the previous quarter to $726 million.
Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter came in at $0.35, beating analysts’ expectations of $0.30.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said the company had the financial strength to undertake the buyback, arguing the current share price did not reflect the value of the company’s assets.
Barrick shares surged in 2020 when gold prices spiked due to the global pandemic, but the stock has not performed as well since, falling 15.6% in 2021.
The miner declared a dividend of 10 cents per share, an increase of 11% from the previous base quarterly dividend.
PRODUCTION DOWN, COSTS UP
Over the year, Barrick’s gold production fell by 6.8% to 4.437 million ounces of gold from 4.76 million ounces in 2020. Copper production was also lower in 2021, at 415 million pounds compared to 457 million pounds in 2020.
Barrick’s costs also climbed over 2021.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) – a measure of total cost of mining – at Barrick’s copper mines jumped by 17.5% to $2.62 per pound in 2021 from $2.23 per pound in 2020.
Costs for Barrick’s gold operations rose by 6.1% to $1,026 per ounce from $967 per ounce in 2020.
Barrick said it expected all-in sustaining costs to climb again to between $1,040 and $1,120 per ounce of gold in 2022, with cash costs of $730 to $790 per ounce.
“Barrick had previously indicated ~3-5% inflation year on year, and the 2022 cash cost guidance implies ~4.8% inflation,” Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) analyst Fahad Tariq said.
