Strong sales growth lifts Silvercorp earnings

10th August 2018 By: Nadine James - Features Deputy Editor

In its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended June 30, Canada-based, China-focused Silvercorp Metals on Thursday reported a net income of $10.9-million and a 25% increase in cash flow on the back of a 14% increase in sales.

The company achieved sales of $45.1-million, up $5.4-million  year-on-year.  Silvercorp’s net income attributable to equity shareholders of $10.9-million, or $0.07 a share, is an effective increase of $4.3-million or 65% over first quarter of 2017.

Cash flow from operations amounted to $21.1-million, an increase of $4.2-million compared with the previous year.

The amount of silver, lead, and zinc metals sold was about 1.5-million ounces, 14.9-million pounds, and 6.4-million pounds, respectively.  Silvercorp’s inventories of silver-lead concentrate amounted to 5 650 t (containing about 500 000 oz silver and 6.2-million pounds lead), an increase of 39%, compared with 4 070 t of silver/lead concentrate inventories at the close of the previous quarter.

The company mined 236 697 t of ore, a 5% increase year-on-year. The was mainly attributable to a 23% (15 102 t) increase at the China-based GC Mine, offset by a 2% decrease at the Ying Mining District. Ore milled also increased, 3% year-on-year, to 237 740 t.

Silvercorp paid a dividend of $2.1-million, or $0.0125 a share, to equity shareholders and ended the quarter with $114.8-million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, an increase of $8.7-million on the previous quarter.