Equinox Gold Reports Third Quarter 2024 Financial and Operating Results

by ahnationtalk on November 7, 202430 Views

November 6, 2024

Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) (“Equinox Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its third quarter 2024 summary financial and operating results. The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 will be available for download on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar and on the Company’s website at www.equinoxgold.com. The Company will host a conference call and webcast on November 7, 2024 commencing at 7:30 am Pacific Time to discuss third quarter results and activities underway at the Company. Further details are provided at the end of this news release.

Greg Smith, President and CEO of Equinox Gold, commented: “This was a record quarter for Equinox Gold, with our best-ever third-quarter production and all-time highest quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the ongoing ramp-up at our Greenstone Mine and strong gold prices. During Q3, the Greenstone Mine demonstrated good progress, with both mining and processing rates increasing substantially. Subsequent to quarter-end, mining and milling rates have continued to increase and we were pleased to declare commercial production at Greenstone earlier today. The team remains focused on continuing this momentum through the fourth quarter as the mine progresses toward design capacity.

“In early October we updated our production expectations for Greenstone to reflect ramp-up progress to date, resulting in 2024 consolidated production guidance of 590,000 to 675,000 ounces of gold. With our highest quarterly production this year expected in Q4, we look forward to ending the year strongly and applying our increasing cash flow to pay down debt.”

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Operational

Produced 173,983 ounces of gold
Sold 173,973 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $2,461 per oz
Total cash costs of $1,720 per oz and AISC of $1,994 per oz⁽¹⁾
Two lost-time injuries; total recordable injury frequency rate⁽²⁾ of 1.79 per million hours worked for the 12-month rolling period (1.78 for the Quarter)

Earnings

Income from mine operations of $101.4 million
Net income of $0.3 million or $0.00 per share (basic)
Adjusted net income of $37.4 million or $0.09 per share⁽¹⁾ (basic)

Financial

Cash flow provided by operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $130.1 million (cash flow provided by operations of $139.5 million after changes in non-cash working capital)
Adjusted EBITDA of $141.9 million⁽¹⁾
Sustaining expenditures⁽¹⁾ of $35.7 million and non-sustaining expenditures of $81.5 million
Cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted) of $167.8 million at September 30, 2024
Net debt⁽¹⁾ of $1,314.7 million at September 30, 2024
- October 2024, $140 million 2019 convertible notes converted to shares on maturity to reduce net debt

Corporate

Greenstone ceremonial mine opening in late August
“Ride to Greenstone” fundraiser, an Equinox Gold employee cycling relay from Vancouver, BC to Geraldton, ON, raised C$1.3 million for the Geraldton District Hospital

Exploration

Released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the exploration-stage Hasaga Property in Red Lake, ON

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

During October 2024, Equinox Gold:
- Issued an updated technical report for Greenstone, which is available for download on the Company’s website, on SEDAR+ and on EDGAR
- Filed a short form base shelf prospectus, replacing the expiring one, that permits the issuance of the Company’s securities over a period of 25 months in Canada and the United States
- Issued 26.6 million common shares on conversion by noteholders of the $140 million 2019 convertible notes
- Provided an update on Greenstone ramp-up progress and adjusted Greenstone 2024 production and cost guidance to 110,000-130,000 ounces of gold with cash costs of $850-$950/oz and AISC of $1,050-$1,150/oz
- Amended certain gold prepay agreements to defer deliveries of 3,900 ounces per month originally scheduled for October 2024-February 2025 to May-September 2026
Announced on November 6, 2024, that Greenstone has reached commercial production based on the operating progress achieved through October

^{(1) Cash costs per oz sold, AISC per oz sold, sustaining expenditures, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, and net debt are non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures and Cautionary Notes. Cash costs per oz sold and AISC per oz sold exclude Greenstone since it had not yet achieved commercial production at September 30, 2024, and exclude Castle Mountain results after August 31, 2024 when residual leaching commenced.}

^{(2) Total recordable injury frequency rate is the total number of injuries excluding those requiring simple first aid treatment and is reported per million hours worked.}

CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

		Three months ended			Nine months ended
Operating data	Unit	September 30, 2024	June 30, 2024	September 30, 2023	September 30, 2024	September 30, 2023
Gold produced	oz	173,983	122,221	149,089	407,929	409,497
Gold sold	oz	173,973	115,423	148,231	405,901	409,620
Average realized gold price	$/oz	2,461	2,328	1,917	2,310	1,926
Cash costs per oz sold⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	$/oz	1,720	1,747	1,363	1,678	1,357
AISC per oz sold⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	$/oz	1,994	2,041	1,630	1,994	1,595
Financial data
Revenue	M$	428.4	269.4	284.7	939.1	790.4
Income from mine operations	M$	101.4	26.6	25.2	139.4	70.4
Net income (loss)	M$	0.3	283.8	2.2	241.3	25.0
Net income (loss) per share (basic)	$/share	0.00	0.72	0.01	0.63	0.08
Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾	M$	141.9	51.3	81.2	245.3	209.1
Adjusted net income (loss)⁽¹⁾	M$	37.4	(5.8)	28.7	17.2	19.3
Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾	$/share	0.09	(0.01)	0.09	0.04	0.06
Balance sheet and cash flow data
Cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted)	M$	167.8	167.5	356.7	167.8	356.7
Net debt⁽¹⁾	M$	1,314.7	1,308.9	729.5	1,314.7	729.5
Operating cash flow before changes in non-cash working capital	M$	130.1	45.1	82.6	223.0	359.2

^{(1) Cash costs per oz sold, AISC per oz sold, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net loss, adjusted EPS and net debt are non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures and Cautionary Notes.}

^{(2) Consolidated cash cost per oz sold and AISC per oz sold for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 excludes Greenstone’s results as the mine has not yet achieved commercial production and excludes Castle Mountain results after August 31, 2024 when residual leaching commenced (see Development Projects). Consolidated AISC per oz sold excludes corporate general and administration expenses.}

^{(3) Numbers in tables throughout this news release may not sum due to rounding.}

2024 GUIDANCE

On August 6, 2024, the Company updated its 2024 production and cost guidance to reflect the consolidation of its ownership of Greenstone, the suspension of mining at Castle Mountain Phase 1 until Phase 2 permitting is complete, slower-than-expected recoveries at Mesquite, and the geotechnical event at Aurizona.

On October 16, 2024, the Company updated its 2024 production guidance for Greenstone to reflect ramp-up progress and adjusted Greenstone production guidance to 110,000-130,000 ounces of gold (from 175,000-205,000 ounces) with cash costs of $850-$950 per ounce (from $690-$790 per ounce) and all-in sustaining costs of $1,050-$1,150 per ounce (from $840-$940 per ounce). Sustaining expenditure at Greenstone is updated to $9 million (from $32 million) and non-sustaining expenditure to $199 million (from $159 million). As a result, consolidated production guidance has been updated to 590,000-675,000 ounces of gold (from 655,000-750,000) with cash costs of $1,450-$1,550 per ounce (from $1,305-$1,405 per ounce) and all-in sustaining costs of $1,820-$1,920 per ounce (from $1,635-$1,735 per ounce).

SELECTED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 AND 2023

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