Yahoo Finance Wheaton (WPM) Q1 Earnings Match Estimates, Sales Miss
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. WPM reported adjusted earnings per share of 23 cents in first-quarter 2023, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line declined 34% year over year.
The company generated revenues of $214 million in the reported quarter, down 30% on a year-over-year basis. The downside was caused by a 14.3% decrease in Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEOs) sold. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $228 million.
Wheaton’s gold production was 73,037 ounces, down from the prior-year quarter’s figure of 78,054 ounces. Attributable silver production slumped 21% year over year to 4,927 ounces and palladium production declined 17% to 3,705 ounces. The company produced 141,831 GEOs in the March-end quarter, down 14% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of 165,555 GEOs.
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Quote
Prices
In first-quarter 2023, the average realized gold price was $1,904 per ounce. The figure was 1.8% higher than the year-ago quarter. Silver prices were $22.85 per ounce in the reported quarter, down 5.5% year over year. Palladium prices were $1,607 per ounce, compared with $2,339 per ounce in the prior-year quarter.
Financial Position
The company had $800 million of cash in hand at the end of the first quarter of 2023, compared with $696 million at the end of 2022. It reported an operating cash flow of $135 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared with $210 million in the first quarter of 2022. The company has a $2-billion undrawn revolving credit facility.
In the quarter, the company announced a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share.
2023 Guidance
Wheaton projects attributable production between 600,000 GEOs and 660,000 GEOs for 2023. Gold production is expected to be 320,000-350,000 ounces. Silver production is projected between 20 million ounces and 22 million ounces, while the production of other metals is anticipated to be 22,000-25,000 GEOs.
Price Performance
Shares of Wheaton have gained 16.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s 17.3% fall.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Wheaton currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD, PPG Industries, Inc. PPG and Linde plc LIN. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLD's current-year earnings has been revised 24% upward in the past 60 days. Steel Dynamics’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 10.7%, on average. STLD has gained around 18% in a year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPG's current-year earnings has been revised 11.7% upward in the past 60 days.
PPG Industries’ earnings beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters, while missing in one quarter. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.8%, on average. PPG has gained around 3% in a year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIN’s current-year earnings has been revised 3.8% upward in the past 60 days.
Linde beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.9%, on average. LIN’s shares have gained roughly 16% in the past year.
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