Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD recorded net earnings (on a reported basis) of $996 million or 57 cents per share for fourth-quarter 2024. The figure improved from a profit of $479 million or 27 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 46 cents. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents.

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Barrick recorded total sales of $3,645 million, up roughly 19.2% year over year.

GOLD’s Operational Highlights

Total gold production was 1,080,000 ounces in the reported quarter, up roughly 2.5% year over year. The average realized price of gold was $2,657 per ounce in the quarter, up around 33.8%. 

The cost of sales increased about 5.1% year over year to $1,428 per ounce. All-in-sustaining costs (AISC) moved up around 6.4% to $1,451 per ounce in the quarter.

GOLD’s Financial Position

At the end of the quarter, Barrick had cash and cash equivalents of $4,074 million, down 1.8% year over year. The company’s total debt was $4,729 million at the end of the quarter, flat year over year.

The operating cash flow was $1,392 million in the reported quarter, whereas free cash flow was $501 million.

GOLD’s FY24 Results

For 2024, Barrick reported total sales of $12,922 million, up 13% from the previous year’s level. Earnings surged 69% year over year to $1.22 per share, while adjusted net earnings were up 50%, reaching $1.26. Operating cash flows rose 20% year over year to nearly $4.5 billion. Free cash flow surged 104% and totaled $1,317 million.

GOLD’s Guidance

For 2025, Barrick anticipates attributable gold production to be in the range of 3.15-3.5 million ounces.

AISC is projected to be $1,460-$1,560 per ounce for 2025. Cash costs per ounce are forecast to be $1,050-$1,130. The company also expects to see a cost of sales of $1,460-$1,560 per ounce.

GOLD expects a copper production of 200,000-230,000 tons at AISC of $2.80-$3.10 per pound, cash costs per ounce of $1.80-$2.10 and cost of sales of $2.50-$2.80 per pound.

Total attributable capital expenditures are projected in the range of $3,100-$3,600 million for 2025.

GOLD’s board authorized a new program for the repurchase of up to $1 billion of its outstanding common shares over the next 12 months. In connection with the new share buyback program, Barrick terminated the share repurchase program announced on Feb. 14, 2024. It bought back $498 million in common shares under its 2024 program. 

GOLD’s Price Performance

Barrick’s shares have gained 29.3% in the past year against a 57.1% rise of the industry.

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GOLD’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Barrick Gold currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include ICL Group Ltd.  ICL, Nutrien Ltd. NTR and Ingevity Corporation NGVT.

ICL is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 6 cents. ICL beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 18.1%. ICL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Nutrien is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on Feb.19. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NTR’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 33 cents. NTR, a Zacks Rank #2 stock, has gained around 2% in the past year.

Ingevity is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 18, after market close. The consensus estimate for Ingevity’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 12 cents. NGVT, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing once, with the average earnings surprise being 95.4%. 

 

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