Bullion major Barrick on Thursday announced another quarterly dividend hike – the third increase in the past year – as the company reported record free cash flow and a big jump in third-quarter earnings.

The Canada-based gold mining company increased its dividend by 12.5% to 9c a share. This, CFO Graham Shuttleworth said, meant that Barrick’s dividend had tripled since the announcement of its merger with Randgold just over two years ago.

“The board believes that the current dividend increase is sustainable and is reflective of the ongoing robust performance of our operations and continued improvement in the strength of our balance sheet,” he said.

Barrick, which is the world second-largest producer of gold after Newmont, said its free cash flow increased by 161% year-on-year to $1.31-billion in the quarter ended September 30.

Adjusted net earnings rose from $264-million in the third quarter of 2019, to $726-million in the quarter under review. Adjusted net earnings a share rose to $0.41, from $0.23 a share in the previous quarter and $0.15 a share in the corresponding period.

Barrick’s average realised gold price increased to $1 926/oz in the third quarter, from $1 476/oz a year earlier.

“As today’s results show, in the face of unprecedented challenges we have succeeded in beating our earnings consensus, reinforcing our ten-year plan and capitalising on the gold price to maintain an industry-leading balance sheet,” said CEO Mark Bristow.

The miner’s third-quarter production fell to 1.16-million ounces, owing to the suspension of the Porgera mine, in Papua New Guinea. However, year-to-date gold production of 3.6-million ounces kept Barrick on track to achieve its guidance of between 4.6-million and 5-million ounces for the year.

Barrick and the government of Papua New Guinea recently agreed, in principle, on the formation of a new partnership to operate the Porgera mine. Under the conceptual agreement, which remained to be finalised, Barrick Niugini would remain the operator, the government would acquire a major share of the equity, and the two sides would agree on a equitable sharing of economic benefits.