BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 27
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The 2Q2021 gold equivalent (GE) production of Polymetal International decreased by 6 percent year-on-year to 339,000 ounces due to the planned grade declines at Kazakhstan’s Kyzyl and Russia’s Albazino mines, Trend reports citing the company.
Company’s GE output for 1H2021 was 714,000 ounces, a 1 percent decrease year-on-year.
“Russia and Kazakhstan have entered the third wave of the COVID pandemic with record numbers of infections and deaths from the virus. At Polymetal, the epidemiological situation remains well controlled with less than fifty presently active cases, none at operating sites,” the company said.
COVID-related transportation restrictions have led to a material increase of Kyzyl concentrate in storage and transit to China and prompted the management to accelerate seasonal summer purchasing campaign across the portfolio.
“These factors drove a significant increase in working capital levels, which should normalise by the year-end,” the company added.
Revenue for the quarter was up 6 percent year-on-year and reached $681 million on the back of higher metal prices. The 1H2021 revenue increased by 12 percent year-on-year to $1.2 billion.
Net debt increased by $500 million for the quarter to $1.83 billion due to record final dividend payment of $400 million and working capital build-up.
Polymetal also confirmed its 2021 production guidance of 1.5 million ounces of GE and maintains the full-year cost guidance of $700-750/GE ounce for total cash cost and $925-975/GE ounce for all-in sustaining cash costs (AISC).
"The cost guidance remains contingent on the Russian rouble and Kazakh tenge exchange rate dynamics. The Company notes the continuous macro and COVID-related pressures affecting its capital expenditures. The Company continues to prioritize timely project execution and to incur additional costs to avoid project schedule slippage," the company said.
Polymetal International plc (together with its subsidiaries — “Polymetal”, the “Company”, or the “Group”) is a top-10 global gold producer and top-5 global silver producer with assets in Russia and Kazakhstan. The Company combines strong growth with a robust dividend yield.