Kinross reports 2022 first-quarter results

Press Release

TORONTO, May 10, 2022 — Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) (“Kinross” or the “Company”) today announced its results for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2022.

This news release contains forward-looking information about expected future events and financial and operating performance of the Company. Please refer to the risks and assumptions set out in our Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information located on page 28 of this release. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

In Q1 2022, Kinross announced its plan to divest all of its Russian assets. As such, the Company’s Russian assets have been excluded from its Q1 2022 results, along with comparative figures, due to the classification of these assets as discontinued as of March 31, 2022.

Q1 2022 highlights from continuing operations:

• Tasiast achieved record production in Q1 2022, with the 24k project progressing well and on schedule.
• La Coipa poured its first gold bar in February, on schedule and under budget.
• At the Great Bear project, exploration, study and permitting activities have ramped up since the completion of the acquisition on February 24, 2022, with assay results reaffirming the world-class potential of the deposit.
• Kinross’ Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per common share payable on June 16, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 2, 2022.
• Attributable gold equivalent production ¹ of 409,857 Au eq. oz. produced.
• Attributable production cost of sales ^{1, 2} of $1,000 per Au eq. oz., consolidated production cost of sales³ of $1,003 per Au eq. oz., and attributable all-in sustaining cost^1,2 of $1,245 per Au eq. oz. sold.
• Margins ⁴ of $872 per Au eq. oz. sold.
• Adjusted operating cash flow ² of $261.0 million and operating cash flow⁵ of $105.2 million.
• Reported net earnings ⁶ of $82.3 million, or $0.07 per share, with adjusted net earnings^{2, 7} of $70.6 million, or $0.06 per share².
• Cash and cash equivalents of $454.2 million, and totalliquidity⁸ of approximately $1.7 billion at March 31, 2022.

Pro-forma Company guidance:

• Kinross maintained its 2022 company-wide guidance for its pro-forma portfolio after excluding its assets from Russia and Ghana due to their pending divestments. The Company has adjusted gold and oil price assumptions for cost of sales and all-in sustaining cost guidance to reflect current prices.
• Kinross expects to produce 2.15 and 2.3 million Au eq. oz. (+/- 5%) in 2022 and 2023, respectively, which is expected to drive strong free cash flow.
• The Company expects to produce 2.1 million Au eq. oz. in 2024 and an average of two million Au eq. oz. per year over the remainder of the decade.
• Taking into account current gold and oil prices, the Company maintained its production cost of sales guidanceof $830 per Au eq. oz.sold (+/- 5%) for the year, with all-in sustaining cost of sales² of $1,150 per eq. oz. sold (+/-5%). Consolidated production cost of sales was $832⁹ per Au eq. oz. sold and attributable all-in sustaining cost of sales was $1,138 per eq. oz. sold^{1, 2, 9} for the year ended December 31, 2021.
• Capital expenditures expected to decrease to $850 million (+/- 5%) in 2022. Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $750 million per year in 2023 and 2024, excluding potential inflationary impacts and based on the Company’s current production guidance.

Russia and Ghana divestments:

• Kinross entered into an agreement with the Highland Gold group of companies to sell 100% of its Russian assets for total consideration of $680 million in cash on April 5, 2022. The parties are continuing to advance the closing process and the transaction remains subject to Russian government approval.
• Kinross entered into an agreement with Asante Gold Corporation (“Asante”) to sell the Company’s 90% interest in the Chirano mine in Ghana for total consideration of $225 million in cash and shares on April 25, 2022. The transaction closing is targeted for the end of May.

Environment, Social, Governance (ESG):

• Kinross published its 2021 Sustainability Report, detailing its approach and strong record on ESG. The Company continued to rank well among peers in major ESG rankings and ratings.
• In 2021, Kinross generated $3.5 billion in economic benefits in host countries through taxes, wages, procurement and community support.
• The Company recycled 80% of water used at site, maintaining a high rate consistent with its five-year average.
• Across the Company, approximately 99% of the total workforce and 92% of all management are from within host countries, both record highs for the Company.

CEO Commentary:
J. Paul Rollinson, President and CEO, made the following comments in relation to 2022 first-quarter results:

“During the quarter, we announced the sale of our Russian assets, and in late April, announced the sale of our Chirano mine in Ghana. With these pending divestments, and the close of the acquisition of Great Bear Resources, our overall portfolio has been re-balanced, with approximately 70% of our production now expected to be generated by our mines in the Americas.

“We have maintained our guidance for our pro-forma portfolio, with a substantial production outlook of 2.15 million gold ounces in 2022, which is expected to grow to 2.3 million gold ounces in 2023. Going forward, we will prioritize balance sheet strength while also returning capital to our shareholders through dividends and our share buyback program.

“We are excited about the future for Kinross which includes a production profile that averages two million ounces a year to the end of the decade, anchored by two tier one assets – Paracatu and Tasiast – accounting for more than half of our production, and a world-class development project in Canada.

“Over the quarter, we achieved record production at Tasiast, and our project pipeline continued to advance well. The Tasiast 24k project remains on track, and we poured first gold at the La Coipa project. We are already making good progress on our exploration program at the Great Bear project and are seeing positive results to support our goal of declaring an initial inferred resource estimate with our 2022 year-end results and our vision of developing a large, long-life mining complex.

“In the important area of ESG, mining responsibly will remain at the core of our business. We were pleased to release our 2021 Sustainability Report, which detailed another year of strong performance. We continued to deliver on our responsible mining goals, ranked well among our peers in major ESG ratings, and provided significant economic benefits to the host countries and communities in which we do business. We are committed to continuously improving our ESG performance, as indicated by our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity by 30% by 2030.”

Summary of financial and operating results

(a)   “Total” includes 100% of Chirano production. “Attributable” includes Kinross’ share of Chirano (90%) production and costs, and Manh Choh (70%) costs.
(b)   The definition and reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures and ratios is included on pages 18 to 24 of this news release.Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios have no standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
(c)   “Gold equivalent ounces” include silver ounces produced and sold converted to a gold equivalent based on a ratio of the average spot market prices for the commodities for each period. The ratio for the first quarter of 2022 was 78.19:1 (first quarter of 2021 – 68.33:1).
(d)   “Capital expenditures from continuing operations” is as reported as “Additions to property, plant and equipment” on the interim condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.
(e)   “Average realized gold price per ounce from continuing operations” is defined as gold metal sales from continuing operations divided by total gold ounces sold from continuing operations.
(f)   “Consolidated production cost of sales from continuing operations per equivalent ounce sold” is defined as production cost of sales divided by total gold equivalent ounces sold from continuing operations.
(g)   Total gold equivalent ounces produced and sold and attributable gold equivalent ounces produced and sold include results from the Kupol and Dvoinoye mines up to March 31, 2022.
(h)   In the first quarter of 2022, the Company announced its plan to divest its Russian operations, which includes the Kupol and Dvoinoye mines and the Udinsk project. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 are from continuing operations and exclude results from the Company’s Russian operations due to the classification of these operations as discontinued as of March 31, 2022.

Read More: https://www.kinross.com/news-and-investors/news-releases/press-release-details/2022/Kinross-reports-2022-first-quarter-results/default.aspx

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