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Aura Announces Q3 2024 Quarterly Financial and Operational Results

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aura Minerals Inc. (TSX: ORA) (B3: AURA33) (OTCQX: ORAAF) (“Aura” or the “Company”) announces that it has filed its unaudited consolidated financial statements and management discussion and analysis (together, “Financial and Operational Results”) for the period ended September 30, 2024 (“Q3 2024”). The full version of the Financial and Operational Results can be viewed on the Company’s website at www.auraminerals.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. All amounts are in thousands of U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise.

Rodrigo Barbosa, President, and CEO of Aura, commented, “We are pleased to report that we entered the first nine months of 2024 on a robust growth trajectory, achieving our fifth consecutive increase in LTM production and reaching a record-high EBITDA of US$187 million. In Q3 2024, with an average gold price of US$2,507 / Oz, we achieved record-high Adjusted EBITDA for a single quarter, at $78.1 million, over 39% higher than Q2 2024. In addition to higher production and higher gold prices, we also managed to have a 3% reduction in our AISC per GEO, keeping us on track to achieve our production and cash cost Guidance for the year. Moreover, the construction of Borborema is now 54% complete and remains on schedule, with ramp-up start anticipated for Q1 2025, setting the stage for a strong year ahead.”

Q3 2024 Financial and Operational Highlights:

(US$ thousand):

    For the three months ended September 30, 2024
  For the three months ended September 30, 2023   For the nine months ended September 30, 2024
  For the nine months ended September 30, 2023
Total Production¹ (GEO)   68,246     64,875     200,758     166,662  
Sales² (GEO)   68,172     63,516     200,517     165,352  
Net Revenue   156,157     110,635     422,646     292,572  
Adjusted EBITDA   78,073     30,020     187,449     93,214  
AISC per GEO sold   1,292     1,436     1,302     1,329  
Ending Cash balance   195,979     178,989     195,979     178,989  
Net Debt   144,366     112,110     144,366     112,110  
Income/(Loss) for the period   (11,923 )   7,759     (46,915 )   37,788  
Adjusted Net Income   43,386     7,621     54,894     37,835  
(1) Considers capitalized production
(2) Does not consider capitalized production
 

Guidance:

________________________________________
¹ AISC is a non-GAAP financial measure with no standardized meaning under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For further information and detailed reconciliations to the most directly comparable IFRS measures, see Section 18 in the MD&A: Non-GAAP Performance Measures in this MD&A.

The Company is on track to meet its guidance for the current fiscal year, including production, cash cost, All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC), and capital expenditures, as demonstrated by the results of the first nine months.

 
Gold equivalent thousand ounces
(‘000 GEO) production – 2024
 
  Low – 2024 High – 2024 9M 2024 A %
Minosa (San Andrés) 60 75 59 79% – 98%
Apoena (EPP) 46 56 30 53% – 66%
Aranzazu 94 108 74 68% – 79%
Almas 45 53 37 71% – 84%
Total 244 292 201 69% – 82%
Cash Cost per equivalent ounce of
gold produced – 2024
 
  Low – 2024 High – 2024 9M 2024 A Δ Low Δ High
Minosa (San Andrés) 1,120 1,288 1,090 -3% -15%
Apoena (EPP) 1,182 1,300 983 -17% -24%
Aranzazu 826 1,009 960 16% -5%
Almas 932 1,025 1,065 14% 4%
Total 984 1,140 1,022 4% -10%
AISC per equivalent ounce of gold
produced – 2024
 
  Low – 2024 High – 2024 9M 2024 A Δ Low Δ High
Minosa (San Andrés) 1,216 1,398 1,176 -3% -16%
Apoena (EPP) 1,588 1,747 1,607 1% -8%
Aranzazu 1,089 1,331 1,269 17% -5%
Almas 1,179 1,297 1,330 13% 3%
Total 1,290 1,459 1,302 1% -11%
Capex (US$ million) – 2024
 
  Low – 2024 High – 2024 9M 2024 A %
Sustaining 37 43 28 65% – 75%
Exploration 7 8 7 90% – 105%
New projects + Expansion 144 169 79 47% – 55%
Total 188 219 114 52% – 60%
         

Q3 2024 Earnings Call

The Company will hold an earnings conference call on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at 8:00 AM (Eastern Time). To register and participate, please click the link below.

Date: November 5, 2024

Time: 8:00 AM (New York and Toronto) | 10:00 AM (Brasília)

Access Link: Click here

Key Factors

The Company’s future profitability, operating cash flows, and financial position will be closely related to the prevailing prices of gold and copper. Key factors influencing the price of gold and copper include, but are not limited to, the supply of and demand for gold and copper, the relative strength of currencies (particularly the United States dollar), and macroeconomic factors such as current and future expectations for inflation and interest rates. Management believes that the short-to-medium term economic environment is likely to remain relatively supportive for commodity prices but with continued volatility.

To decrease risks associated with commodity prices and currency volatility, the Company will continue to evaluate and implement available protection programs. For additional information on this, please refer to the AIF.

Other key factors influencing profitability and operating cash flows are production levels (impacted by grades, ore quantities, process recoveries, labor, country stability, plant, and equipment availabilities), production and processing costs (impacted by production levels, prices, and usage of key consumables, labor, inflation, and exchange rates), among other factors.

Non-GAAP Measures

In this press release, the Company has included Adjusted EBITDA, cash operating costs per gold equivalent ounce sold, AISC and net debt which are non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning within IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company believes that these measures provide investors with additional information which is useful in evaluating the Company’s performance and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The below tables provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures presented:

Reconciliation from Income for the Quarter for EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (US$ thousand):

    For the three months ended September 30, 2024
  For the three months ended September 30, 2023   For the nine months ended September 30, 2024
  For the nine months ended September 30, 2023
Profit (loss) from continued and discontinued operation   (11,923 )   7,759     (46,915 )   37,788  
Income tax (expense) recovery   11,833     6,758     36,588     17,200  
Deferred income tax (expense) recovery   (1,995 )   1,095     5,738     (6,323 )
Finance costs   62,691     5,477     141,888     12,505  
Other gains (losses)   359     (4,517 )   952     (5,736 )
Depreciation   17,108     13,449     49,198     37,781  
EBITDA   78,073     30,020     187,449     93,214  
Impairment                
ARO Change                
Adjusted EBITDA   78,073     30,020     187,449     93,214  
                         

Reconciliation from the consolidated financial statements to cash operating costs per gold equivalent ounce sold (US$ thousand):

    For the three months ended September 30, 2024
  For the three months ended September 30, 2023   For the nine months ended September 30, 2024
  For the nine months ended September 30, 2023
Cost of goods sold   (83,976 )   (84,097 )   (252,475 )   (206,691 )
Depreciation   16,686     13,408     47,577     37,242  
COGS w/o Depreciation   (67,290 )   (70,689 )   (204,898 )   (169,449 )
Gold Equivalent Ounces sold   68,172     63,516     200,517     165,352  
Cash costs per gold equivalent ounce sold   987     1,113     1,022     1,025  
                         

Reconciliation from the consolidated financial statements to all in sustaining costs per gold equivalent ounce sold (US$ thousand):

    For the three months ended September 30, 2024
  For the three months ended September 30, 2023   For the nine months ended September 30, 2024
  For the nine months ended September 30, 2023  
Cost of goods sold   (83,976 )   (84,097 )   (252,475 )   (206,691 )
Depreciation   16,686     13,408     47,577     37,242  
COGS w/o Depreciation   (67,290 )   (70,689 )   (204,898 )   (169,449 )
Capex w/o Expansion   13,535     13,734     34,725     34,082  
Site G&A   2,444     2,828     7,900     6,661  
Lease Payments   4,810     3,985     13,490     9,636  
Sub-Total          
Gold Equivalent Ounces sold   68,172     63,516     200,517     165,352  
All In Sustaining costs per ounce sold   1,292     1,436     1,302     1,329  
                         

Reconciliation Net Debt (US$ thousand):

    For the three months ended September 30, 2024
  For the three months ended September 30, 2023
Short Term Loans   163,115     101,047  
Long-Term Loans   177,444     197,714  
Plus / (Less): Derivative Financial Instrument for Debentures   (214 )   (7,662 )
Less: Cash and Cash Equivalents   (195,979 )   (178,989 )
Less: Restricted cash        
Less: Short term investments        
Net Debt   144,366     112,110  
             

About Aura 360° Mining

Aura is focused on mining in complete terms – thinking holistically about how its business impacts and benefits every one of our stakeholders: our company, our shareholders, our employees, and the countries and communities we serve. We call this 360° Mining.

Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on operating and developing gold and base metal projects in the Americas. The Company has 4 operating mines including the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, the Apoena (EPP) and Almas gold mines in Brazil, and the Minosa (San Andres) gold mine in Honduras. The Company’s development projects include Borborema and Matupá both in Brazil. Aura has unmatched exploration potential owning over 630,000 hectares of mineral rights and is currently advancing multiple near-mine and regional targets along with the Aura Carajas copper project in the prolific Carajás region of Brazil.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements”, as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “plans,” “expects,” “is expected,” “budget,” “scheduled,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “anticipates,” or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results “may,” “could,” “would,” “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved.

Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s ability to predict or control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Annual Information Form on file with certain Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements, which include, without limitation, volatility in the prices of gold, copper and certain other commodities, changes in debt and equity markets, the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data, increases in costs, environmental compliance and changes in environmental legislation and regulation, interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, general economic conditions and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Financial Outlook and Future-Oriented Financial Information

To the extent any forward-looking statements in this press release constitute “financial outlooks” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, such information is being provided as certain estimated financial metrics and the reader is cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for any other purpose and the reader should not place undue reliance on such financial outlooks. Such information was approved by the company’s Board of Directors on November 4, 2024. Financial outlooks, as with forward-looking statements generally, are, without limitation, based on the assumptions and subject to various risks as set out herein. The Company’s actual financial position and results of operations may differ materially from management’s current expectations and, as a result, may differ materially from values provided in this press release.


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