TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Silver stream company Silver Wheaton reported second-quarter net earnings of $18,4-million on Thursday evening, compared with profit of $23,3-million in the same period a year earlier.

Silver Wheaton, which buys silver at precontracted prices from miners and sells the metal at the current spot price, said sales were flat year-on-year, at 2,9-million ounces.

However, the company realised an average price of $14,04/oz of silver equivalent in the second quarter, compared with $17,35 a year ago.

The average cash cost per ounce also increased slightly, to $3,99/oz, from $3,93/oz in the second quarter of 2008, after the company completed its acquisition of smaller rival Silverstone Resources.

Operating cash flow slid to $26,5-million, compared with $35,9-million a year earlier.

The firm also expects to realise the sale proceeds later in the year of around 1-million silver-equivalent ounces which were produced at the various mines during the quarter but not sold, because of shipment timing, Silver Wheaton said.

Attributable production in the quarter increased to a best-ever 4-million silver equivalent ounces, or 3,8-million ounces of silver and 3 400 oz of gold.

"Despite continued challenges in the global economy, Silver Wheaton is proud to have achieved record attributable production during the quarter and we remain on target to meet our 2009 sales guidance of 17- to 19-million silver-equivalent ounces for the year,” CEO Peter Barnes said in a statement.

“Although our partners produced approximately 1-million silver equivalent ounces more during the quarter than we sold, this is only a timing issue and we anticipate these sales will be recorded during the second half of the year."

The company had almost $50-million in cash on hand at the end of the quarter, plus access to an undrawn $400-million facility, Barnes said.

“We remain very well positioned to continue delivering on our strategy of accretive growth."

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