Kalgoorlie Superpit owner Northern Star Resources made an after-tax profit of $639 million last financial year, as it rode the wave of a record Australian dollar gold price.
Kalgoorlie Superpit owner Northern Star Resources made an after-tax profit of $639 million last financial year, as it rode the wave of a record Australian dollar gold price.
The top-ranked goldminer in Western Australia according to Data & Insights, Northern Star returned the profit from revenue of $4.9 billion, with underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $2.2 billion.
The company sold 1.62 million ounces of gold produced at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,853 per ounce.
AISC was at the higher end of revised guidance for the period, of $1,810-$1,860/oz, with gold sold in the company’s prescribed 1.6 million-1.75 million oz guidance.
Northern Star sold its gold at an average price of $3,031 over the period, which was up 15 per cent year on year.
The Kalgoorlie operations and the Pogo mine in Alaska were the company’s star performers, with the Yandal project missing production and cost guidance over the financial year after it was impacted by weather and an unplanned 10-day mill shutdown.
Northern Star declared a 25 cents per share dividend and extended its share buyback program – where $128 million of a budgeted $300 million program is still available – for a further 12 months.
It ended the financial year with net cash of $358 million and liquidity of $2.7 billion.
The company said it expected the momentum to continue into 2025, setting higher production guidance of 1.65 million-1.8 million oz.
It forecast AISC within a window of $1,850-$2,100/oz, flagging that sales will be weighted to the back half of the financial year due to increased production from higher grades at its Kalgoorlie hub and improved mill availability at Thunderbox, within Yandal, and Pogo.
Major shutdowns are scheduled for the September quarter.
Work is under way on a mill expansion at Kalgoorlie and will continue through the period towards a ramp-up in the 2028 financial year.
Northern Star expects to spend between $500 million and $530 million on that project in the current financial year, with a further $950 million-$1.02 billion budgeted for growth beyond it.
“Financial year 2024 has been a strong year for Northern Star as we maintained a focus on delivering our organic profitable growth strategy,” managing director Stuart Tonkin said.
“Our team’s commitment to safety continues our industry leading performance.
“Northern Star is well positioned to successfully continue to deliver value for all stakeholders.”
Northern Star shares were up 1.4 per cent this morning, to $15.11.
