(Kitco News) - Precious metals miners continue to hit their earnings out of the park as they benefit from higher prices, improved production, and stable costs.
First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) is the latest miner to check all its earnings boxes after it reported record free cash flow in the fourth quarter, nearly doubling from the previous quarter. The senior silver producer said Thursday, ahead of the North American open, that it generated free cash flow of $68.4 million in the final three months of 2024, up from $31.3 million in the third quarter.
“The improvement in free cash flow was driven by improved silver equivalent (“AgEq”) production, higher realized silver prices, and lower costs during the quarter,” the company said.
The company’s earnings for the fourth quarter rose in line with analyst expectations. First Majestic reported adjusted net earnings of $7.6 million or $0.03 per share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $8.3 million or $0.03 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company said its EBITDA for the quarter was $62.0 million, compared to $33.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The increase in EBITDA was primarily attributable to the increase in mine operating earnings and lower restructuring costs related to workforce optimization, mainly at San Dimas, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023,” the company said.
Looking at its annual operations, the company said that it achieved annual silver production while keeping costs in line with its projections.
“The Company produced 21.7 million AgEq ounces, consisting of 8.4 million silver ounces and 156,542 gold ounces at an average AISC of $21.11,” the company said.
The company said it generated annual revenues of $560.6 million in 2024, 2% lower compared to 2023 due to a 20% decrease in the total number of payable AgEq ounces sold, primarily as a result of the temporary suspension of mining operations at Jerritt Canyon in March 2023.
However, the company ended the year with a strong balance sheet of $308.3 million, consisting of $202.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, as well as $106.1 million in restricted cash. The company also ended the year with working capital of $224.5 million.
The company declared a cash dividend of $0.0057 per common share for the fourth quarter of 2024 for shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 28, 2025.
As of the end of the year, First Majestic held 539,153 ounces of silver and 2,595 ounces of gold bullion inventory with a total fair value of $22.4 million.
