(Reuters) - Canadian miner Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd (TO:KL) raised its full-year forecast for gold production and beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, driven by higher production at its Fosterville mine in Victoria, Australia.
The company raised its forecast for full-year gold production to between 1.4 million ounces and 1.5 million ounces, from prior estimates of a range of 950,000 ounces to 1 million ounces.
The guidance was boosted by the acquisition of rival Detour Gold Corp in January, which helped ease concerns about the short life of the company's flagship Fosterville mine.
Kirkland Lake, which has operations in Canada and Australia, said quarterly production jumped 21% to 279,742 ounces in the fourth quarter, while the average realized price for gold fell 9.7% to $512 per ounce sold.
The company said it was considering options for its mines at Holt Complex in Canada and in Northern Territory, Australia and designated the assets as non-core as they did not generate adequate returns.
The Toronto-listed miner also said it plans to repurchase 20 million of its common shares over two years.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 88 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 87 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Kirkland's net earnings rose to $169.1 million, or 80 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $106.5 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 47% to $412.4 million.