Shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV hit a new 52-week high of $148.02 after registering year-over-year increases in its top and bottom lines in its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Monday. The company closed the session lower at $143.61. FNV reported adjusted earnings of 95 cents per share in third-quarter 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents. The bottom line increased 6% year over year.
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FNV generated revenues of $321 million in the reported quarter, marking a year-over-year increase of 6%. The upside was driven by record gold prices and strong production from Candelaria. In the December quarter, 79.2% of revenues were sourced from Precious Metal assets (65.9% gold, 11.3% silver and 2% platinum group metals).
Franco-Nevada sold 95,565 Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEOs) from Precious Metal assets in the reported quarter, down 20.1% from the prior-year quarter.
In the reported quarter, adjusted EBITDA rose 8.6% year over year to $277 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 86.4% in the quarter under review compared with 83.9% in the prior-year quarter.
Franco-Nevada Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Franco-Nevada Corporation Quote
At the end of 2024, Franco-Nevada had $1.45 billion cash in hand, up from $1.42 billion as of the end of 2023. It recorded an operating cash flow of $829.5 million in 2024, down from $991 million in 2023.
The company is debt-free and uses its free cash flow to expand the portfolio and payout dividends. FNV now has available capital of $2.4 billion.
FNV reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.21 in 2024 compared with $3.56 in the prior year. The company’s 2024 earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.09.
Revenues moved down 9% year over year to $1.11 billion. Revenues were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Franco-Nevada expects total GEOs between 465,000 and 525,000 in 2025, indicating a 7% increase at mid-point from 2024’s reported figure. GEOs from precious metal assets are expected between 385,000 and 425,000. It reported total GEOs of 463,334 in 2024.
FNV expects 2025 revenues to be 25% higher than the 2024 actual.
The company’s shares have gained 27.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 38.8%.
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Franco-Nevada currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Royal Gold, Inc. RGLD reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.63 in the fourth quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49. The bottom line increased 72% year over year.
RGLD generated revenues of $203 million, up 32.7% year over year. The upside was driven by higher average metal prices, increased gold sales from Rainy River and Wassa, and higher gold sales from the Peñasquito mine. However, the gains were partially offset by year-over-year lower gold production from Cortez.
B2Gold Corp. BTG posted adjusted earnings per share of 1 cent for fourth-quarter 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 6 cents. The bottom line slumped 86% year over year. The downside was attributed to the decrease in gold ounces sold in the quarter due to lower production at the Fekola mine.
B2Gold generated revenues of $499.8 million in fourth-quarter 2024, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 2.4%. The 33.5% increase in average realized gold prices was partially offset by a 26.9% fall in gold ounces sold in the quarter. In the December-end quarter, B2Gold recorded a consolidated gold production of 186,001 ounces, down 31.1% year over year.
Kinross Gold Corporation KGC posted adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share, up from the prior-year quarter’s 11 cents. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 23 cents.
KGC’s revenues rose 26.9% year over year to $1.42 billion in the fourth quarter. The metric topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 billion.
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