Barrick CEO Mark Bristow
Miner Barrick Gold doubled its quarterly dividend on Wednesday after reporting first-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations, on the back of higher gold and copper prices.
Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven to invest in during times of financial uncertainty, rose above $2 000/oz in early March after Russia invaded Ukraine. It has since retreated to around $1 850/oz.
The miner's realized gold price in the quarter rose 5.6% to $1 876/oz from a year earlier, while copper saw a near 14% increase to $4.68./lb.
However, the company's gold production in the quarter fell 10.1% to 990 000 oz from a year earlier, hurt by lower output at its Nevada gold mines.
The omicron coronavirus variant has caused labor shortages and other production disruptions, forcing rivals like Newmont to take a hit of as much as 150 000 oz in the first quarter.
The company said rising inflation, exacerbated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and western sanctions, has had a direct impact on Barrick's business, not only in terms of fuel and gas prices but also the cost and availability of input commodities.
Barrick said its all in sustaining costs, an industry metric that reflects total costs associated with production, was up at $1 164/oz of gold from $1 018/oz a year earlier.
Barrick also declared a dividend of 20c a share for the first quarter, nearly double from the previous quarter.
US-listed shares of the company, which have gained 18% so far this year, were up 0.5% in premarket trading.
Barrick's first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 26c was above estimates of 24c, according to Refinitiv IBES.