Despite stronger gold and silver prices driving revenue up
- Fresnillo’s profit slumped on higher costs
- Pretax profit fell 54% to $114.0 million in 2023
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined 13% to $655.7 million
- Total revenue grew 11% to $2.705 billion
- Fresnillo backed its production target for 2024
- Declared a final dividend of 4.2 cents a share
Fresnillo, the world’s largest silver miner, reported a significant slump in profit due to higher costs, despite the positive impact of stronger gold and silver prices on revenue. The company’s pretax profit fell by 54% to $114.0 million in 2023, primarily due to higher administrative and exploration expenses. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization also declined by 13% to $655.7 million. However, total revenue managed to grow by 11% to $2.705 billion, driven by higher volumes of silver sold and increased gold and silver prices. Fresnillo remains confident in its production target for 2024 and has set a capital expenditure target of around $440 million. The company plans to closely monitor costs and implement initiatives to optimize and reduce expenses. Despite the challenging financial results, Fresnillo declared a final dividend of 4.2 cents per share, in line with its distribution policy, resulting in a full-year payout of 5.6 cents, down from 16.7 cents the previous year.
Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides specific financial information about Fresnillo’s profit, revenue, and expenses, supported by data such as percentages and dollar amounts. It also includes analyst forecasts and the company’s future plans. The information presented is clear, relevant, and based on factual data without any apparent bias or misleading information.
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides a clear and concise overview of Fresnillo’s financial performance, including key metrics such as profit, revenue, and production targets. It includes relevant information such as the reasons behind the profit slump and the company’s future plans to optimize costs. The article stays on topic and supports its claims with data and figures. However, it lacks in-depth analysis or exploration of broader trends in the mining industry.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The financial markets impacted by this news article are the precious metals market and mining companies, specifically Fresnillo, the world’s largest silver miner.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Rating Justification: The article discusses the financial performance of Fresnillo, a mining company, and its impact on the precious metals market. There is no mention of any extreme events or significant disruptions in the article.
Public Companies: Fresnillo (FRES)
Key People: Christian Moess Laursen (Author)
Reported publicly:
www.marketwatch.com 
