Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) earned $546 million or $1.11 per share, compared to $189 million or 40 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time charges, the company recorded earnings of 83 cents per share, easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 78 cents.
Sales came in at $2.2 billion, up 46% from a year-ago. Gold production for the quarter was 1.3 million ounces and the average realized gold price was $1,106 per ounce.
Average realized gold price saw a 22% increase in the quarter. Cost of sales increased 11% year over year due to higher mining and milling costs, along with lower production in Nevada and at Yanacocha in Peru.
Copper production was 90 million pounds, and the average realized copper price was $3.33 per pound.
During the quarter, Newmont Mining Corporation generated $728 million from continuing operations and used capital expenditures of $309 million.
Newmont ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $3.4 billion, and $4.6 billion of debt.
Newmont recently secured the mining lease for its Akyem project in Ghana and is developing plans at Conga in Peru following a successful public meeting with local stakeholders.
Going forward, management maintained its previously announced outlook for 2010 for gold production of 5.3 to 5.5 million ounces with cost of sales ranging from 450 ounce to 480 ounce on a co-product basis.
Capital expenditures are forecasted between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion with approximately 30% each to be invested in the North America and Asia Pacific regions, and the remaining 40% at other locations.
Newmont expects to spend approximately 40% of 2010 capital expenditures on major project initiatives, related to further development of a project in Ghana and the Conga project in Peru.
Denver, Colorado-based Newmont Mining Corporation is one of the world’s largest producers of gold, with several active mines in Nevada, Peru, Australia/New Zealand, Indonesia and Ghana.
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