Proactive Investors - Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) shares tumbled on Monday after the Canadian-based gold miner posted a first quarter earnings miss.
The company, which operates the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Öksüt mine in Turkey, posted a first quarter loss of $73.5 million or a loss per share of $0.34.
Analysts, on average, had been expecting a loss per share of $0.04, per Zacks.
Also sending the company’s share price lower on Monday was the company’s updated expectation that its 2023 gold production will be near the low end of its guidance, while its copper production is tracking toward the mid-point of its guidance.
“Mine sequencing remains on track to access the higher-grade copper and gold ore in the second half of the year resulting in back-end weighted production,” noted Centerra CEO Paul Tomory in a statement.
Gold and copper production at its Mount Milligan Mine of 33,215 ounces and 13.4 million pounds respectively were lower this quarter, which Centerra attributed to lower plant throughput due to a planned mill maintenance shutdown and material handling issues during the winter months.
Further, sequencing of the mining phases during 1Q saw lower than expected ore grades and differences in the ore-waste transition zone, which also impacted feed grades and metal recoveries, Centerra noted.
Gold production costs for the quarter were $1,124 per ounce due to the higher allocation of costs to gold from changes in the relative market prices of gold and copper and mill shutdown activities, and copper production costs were $2.66 per pound.
Separately, the company announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.07 per share.
Centerra shares had fallen 13.3% to C$7.80 on Monday morning.