Yes, the table below is correct. After a very profitable year, Egypt-based gold miner Centamin (CEY) quintupled its full-year dividend for 2016, immediately turning the stock into one of the highest-yielders in the mining sector. A total return to shareholders of $178m (£141m) also smashed consensus expectations, which had taken a revised policy to pay out at least 30 per cent of net cash flow to mean, well, 30 per cent.
The modest 4 per cent share price rise that greeted these results suggests investors are not getting carried away with hopes for future income. That would be sensible, particularly as Centamin expects all-in sustaining cash costs to rise 14 per cent to $790 an ounce this year, along with a slight decline in production.
Nonetheless, full-year results for 2016 bear testimony to the gold miner's recent track record of treating guidance as a target to beat. The 551,036 ounces produced last year was both 26 per cent higher than 2015 and above the revised forecast range, while the precipitous drop in costs - aided by lower fuel prices - also came in below expectations.
For their part, Canaccord analysts have forecast adjusted EPS of 10¢ for 2017, assuming an average gold price of $1,183, down from 19¢ and $1,248 in 2016.
CENTAMIN (CEY) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 163p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.88bn | |
TOUCH: | 163-163.2p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 183p | LOW: 66p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 7.5% | PE RATIO: | 9 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 132¢ | NET CASH: | $400m |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 426 | 199 | 18.3 | nil |
2013 | 504 | 184 | 16.9 | nil |
2014 | 473 | 81.6 | 7.2 | 2.86 |
2015 | 508 | 58.4 | 4.5 | 2.94 |
2016 | 687 | 267 | 23.0 | 15.5 |
% change | +35 | +357 | +412 | +427 |
Ex-div: 2 Mar Payment: 31 Mar £1 = $1.26 |