OceanaGold Philippines Reports 47.9% Drop in Net Income for Q1

OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGP) reported a 47.9% decline in net income for the first quarter, falling to $11.5 million from $22.1 million in the same period last year. This decrease is primarily attributed to lower gold and copper production.

In a recent disclosure, the company's revenues for the three-month period slightly decreased to $92.1 million, down from $92.5 million the previous year. OGP operates the Didipio gold and copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya.

Under the company's financial or technical assistance agreement, 60% of its net revenues go to the Philippine government. OGP's net revenues for the quarter amounted to $42.2 million, which is 14.2% lower than the $49.2 million recorded last year. Consequently, government shares dropped to $25.3 million from $29.5 million a year earlier.

Gold production for the quarter fell by 39% to 26,312 ounces, compared to 33,000 ounces the previous year. The company attributed this decline to its focus on mining the lower-grade monzonite ore. Gold sales totaled 31,863 ounces, with 33% of the first-quarter gold doré production sold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Similarly, copper production decreased by 22% to 3,015 tons from 3,500 tons during the same period in 2023, with copper sales at 3,180 tons. Despite the drop in production, total ore mined in the first quarter increased by 7% to 415,000 tons from 389,000 tons last year.

"Gold and copper recoveries during the first quarter were 88.6% and 88.4%, respectively, lower than the previous quarter due to decreased feed grades," the company stated.

OceanaGold anticipates producing 120,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold and 12,000 to 14,000 tons of copper for the year. The company also plans to focus its 2024 exploration expenditure at Didipio on extension and conversion drilling in the underground, along with planned regional exploration activities.

Shares of OGP fell by 1.87% on Monday, closing at P14.72 each.