Yahoo Finance First Majestic (AG) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Dip Y/Y
First Majestic Silver Corp AG reported an adjusted loss per share of 7 cents in fourth-quarter 2022, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents mainly due to lower prices. The company had reported earnings of 2 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Including one-time items, the company delivered a loss of 6 cents per share in the reported quarter compared with a loss per share of 2 cents in the year-earlier quarter.
First Majestic’s revenues plunged 28% year over year to $148 million in the quarter under review. The average realized silver price was $23.24 per payable silver equivalent ounce in the quarter, down 4% year over year.
AG’s total production in the fourth quarter was 7.6 million silver equivalents ("AgEq") ounces, which was 12% lower than the prior-year quarter. The decrease was mainly due to lower production at San Dimas and Santa Elena. However, this was partially offset by higher gold production at Jerritt Canyon and higher silver production at La Encantada. The figure consists of 2.4 million silver ounces and 63,039 gold ounces. On a year-over-year basis, silver production was down 29%, whereas gold production decreased 6.5%.
First Majestic Silver Corp. Price and Consensus
First Majestic Silver Corp. price-consensus-chart | First Majestic Silver Corp. Quote
Operational Update
The company recorded cash costs per silver equivalent ounce of $15.36, up 25% from the year-ago quarter. Consolidated all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) of $20.69 per silver equivalent ounce came in 20% higher than the prior-year quarter.
First Majestic reported a mine-operating loss of $13.3 million in the quarter against the mine-operating profit of $40.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Financial Position
First Majestic ended the fourth quarter of 2022 with $151 million of cash in hand. Operating cash flow before movement in working capital and taxes was $13.4 million in the quarter under review compared with the prior-year quarter's $71.8 million.
Performance in 2022
AG generated record annual revenues totaling $624.2 million in 2022, 7% higher than in 2021. This was primarily due to the first full year of production from the Ermitaño mine at Santa Elena. The company reported an adjusted loss per share of 21 cents per share in 2022 against adjusted earnings of 2 cents per share in 2021. Including one-time items, the company reported a loss of 43 cents per share compared with a loss of 2 cents per share in 2021.
Production was a record 31.3 million silver equivalent ounces in 2022, up 16% from the 2021 levels. The figure consisted of 10.5 million silver ounces and 248,394 gold ounces.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Shares of the company have fallen 50.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 35.8% decline.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
First Majestic currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are CalMaine Foods, Inc. CALM, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. RS and ATI Inc. ATI. All these companies currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CalMaine Foods’ fiscal 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $16.75, suggesting 515.8% growth from the year-ago reported figure. Earnings estimates have moved 106.8% north in the past 60 days. CALM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.3%, on average. Its shares have gained 31.2% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Reliance Steel’s earnings per share is pegged at $18.26 for 2023. Earnings estimates have been revised 7.4% upward in the past 60 days. RS has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 13.4%, on average. The company has gained 31% in a year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI’s current-year earnings has been revised 1.9% upward in the past 60 days. The company has an earnings growth rate of 9% for the current year.
ATI topped Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 32.4%, on average. ATI’s shares have gained 58% in the past year.
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