Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM reported earnings per share of 3 cents for second-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents. ASM had reported break-even earnings in the second quarter of 2023. The improvement in earnings was aided by an increase in payable silver equivalent ounces sold, higher metal prices and lower mining costs.
Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 1 cent, in-line with the year-ago quarter.
Avino Silver’s revenues surged 60% year over year to a record $14.8 million owing to higher sales and metal prices. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14 million.
Payable silver equivalent sold increased 19% year over year to 537,037 ounces. Realized silver prices were $28.42 per ounce, up 16% year over year. Gold prices were $2,331 per ounce, 16.8% higher than the year-ago quarter. Copper prices per ton increased 13.5% year over year to $9,711.
The cost of sales increased 23% to $10.1 million, which was attributed to the higher silver equivalent ounces sold partially offset by lower mining costs due to cost management initiatives undertaken by the company at the start of the year.
The company recorded cash costs of $16.29 per silver equivalent payable ounce, a 0.2% dip from $16.33 in the year-ago quarter. Consolidated all-in sustaining costs were $22.74 per silver payable equivalent ounce compared with $23.06 in the second quarter of 2023.
Avino Silver reported a mine-operating profit of $4.7 million, up 350% from $1 million in the year-ago quarter on higher sales. EBITDA was $3.4 million, which was 761% higher than $0.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
General and administrative expenses were $1.8 million, up 17% from the second quarter of 2023 due to higher professional fees.
Financial Position
Avino Silver ended the second quarter with $5.3 million of cash in hand, higher than $1.2 million held at the end of the second quarter of 2023. Cash provided by operating activities was $1.08 million compared with $0.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
Production Update
Avino Silver reported consolidation production of 578,360 silver equivalent ounces, down 1% year over year. This comprised 262,861 ounces of silver, 1,456 ounces of gold and 1,284,171 pounds of copper. While silver production increased 13%, gold output was down 4% and copper production declined 11%.
During the quarter, the company processed 10,000 tons of La Preciosa surface stockpiles, which produced a saleable high-grade concentrate. With significantly higher silver grades than Avino, La Preciosa contributed to the 26% increase in silver ounces produced in the quarter.
Update on La Preciosa
On Jan 9, 2024, the company announced that it had signed a long-term land-use agreement with a local community for the development of La Preciosa in Durango, Mexico.
La Preciosa hosts one of the largest undeveloped primary silver resources in Mexico. It is located near the current Avino Mine production operations, which has a mill processing facility and all the necessary infrastructure to enable mineral processing from La Preciosa.
Avino Silver has applied for an environmental permit from the authorities. Following feedback received in the second quarter, the permit has been submitted again with minor modifications. Another permit application will be submitted shortly after receipt of the environmental permit. The permit is required to begin the construction of the portal and haulage ramp and the mining of the Gloria and Abundancia veins.
At La Preciosa, capital for 2024 is estimated to be between $3 million and $4 million, which will cover surface work and equipment procurement for the Gloria and Abundancia Veins' first phase of mine development.
Guidance for 2024
Avino Silver expects approximately 7-7.5 million tons for millprocessing in 2024 that will be sourced from both the Avino Mine and stockpiles from La Preciosa. Production is expected to be between 2.5 million and 2.8 million silver equivalent ounces.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have gained 36.2% over the past year compared with the industry’s 37.6% growth.
Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank
Avino Silver currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
How Did ASM’s Peers Fare in Q2?
Pan American Silver Corp. PAAS reported adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents for the second quarter, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents. PAAS had posted adjusted earnings per share of 8 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Including one-time items, Pan American Silver reported a loss of 6 cents per share compared with the year-ago quarter’s loss of 9 cents per share.
PAAS’ revenues improved 7.3% year over year to $686 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $682 million. The average realized silver price increased 20% year over year to $28.14 per ounce. The average realized gold price increased 18.3% year over year to $2,336 per ounce.
First Majestic Silver AG reported second-quarter loss of 7 cents per share, in contrast to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 2 cents per share. The company had reported a loss of 2 cents per share in the second quarter of 2023.
Total production was 5.3 million silver equivalent (AgEq) ounces, which consisted of 2.1 million silver ounces and 39,339 gold ounces. AG’s quarterly revenues declined 7% year over year to $136.2 million. The downfall was attributed to a 15% decrease in the total number of payable AgEq ounces sold due to higher silver inventory levels held at quarter end.
Hecla Mining HL reported earnings per share of 2 cents in the second quarter, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent. The bottom line moved down 33% from the year-ago quarter.
Hecla Mining witnessed a 38% increase in revenues to $246 million, which beat the consensus estimate of $209 million.
The company reported 4.5 million ounces of silver production in the second quarter. This marked a 16% year-over-year improvement, reflecting the solid performance at Keno Hill.
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