HCHDY - Hochschild Mining plc (HCHDF) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
2024-03-13 20:16:07 ET
Hochschild Mining plc (HCHDF)
Q4 2023 Results Conference Call
March 13, 2024 6:45 AM ET
Company Participants
Eduardo Landin - CEO
Eduardo Noriega - CFO
Conference Call Participants
Dan Major - UBS
Richard Hatch - Berenberg
Patrick Jones - JPMorgan
Presentation
Eduardo Landin
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our results presentation of 2023 results. I will do a brief introduction to the results and then I will pass the presentation to Eduardo Noriega. He will go through the financials, and then I will go back to do -- I mean, to present an update on the strategy of the company. And finally, we will see some conclusions.
So going to the first. We feel very proud of a year of delivery. First of all, I have to say that we have a very strong performance on ESG, that I will tell you later. In terms of results, we have $694 million on revenues, EBITDA of $274 million, EPS $0.02, and an all-in sustaining cash cost of $1,454, better than the guidance, in terms of -- I mean, the EBITDA guidance in terms of cost, and also we were very close to the high end of the guidance that we present in the middle of the year.
We have to remember that it was a tough year because we're supposed to get the environmental permit for Inmaculada on the 1st of January, and that was the budget done based on that assumption. And we finally got it in August. So that was a difficult situation. But finally, we got it.
In terms of growth, Mara Rosa today is in production. We finished the project on time, on budget on the 31st of January. We have the first gold pour on the 22nd of February. And today, we feel that we will achieve commercial production before the end of June 2024. So a fantastic results of Hochschild getting in a new country, in a country that we feel very comfortable to work.
Also, we have Royropata. It's a fantastic deposit with 50 million ounces. We have already [indiscernible] in order to bring new resources. And the new thing is that we have signed this new option of Monte Do Carmo with Rado Gold that give us the possibility to have a new operation in Brazil.
I mean our balance sheet remains very strong. We have $89 million in cash. We remain with a net debt of $256 million. And we are focused on repayment, debt growth and capital return.
I mean despite the difficulties during 2023, we feel very good in terms of our ESG results. Let me say that for the first time in history, in Hochschild history, we have been able to reduce our frequency rate below 1, 0.99, is a fantastic number not only for open pit mines, but I mean, is remarkable for underground mines. Also, we have the best ECO score in history, reaching 5.75 out of 6. That's very good....
Hochschild Mining plc (HCHDF) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript