Jaguar Q1 Record Production and SalesJaguar Mining Reports Q1 2008 Earnings
Record Production and Sales; Company Expects to Double Reserves in Q2 JAG - TSX/NYSE Arca CONCORD, NH, May 7 /CNW/ - Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company")(JAG: TSX/NYSE Arca, JAG.NT: TSX) reports its financial and operationalresults for the period ended March 31, 2008. All figures are in US dollarsunless otherwise indicated. << Q1 2008 Highlights - Q1 2008 earnings per fully diluted share totaled $0.01 compared to a loss of $0.01 in Q1 2007. - Record revenue for Q1 2008 totaled $18.8 million, an increase of 187% from the same period last year. - Gold sales for Q1 2008 totaled 20,344 oz at an average price of $924/oz compared to Q1 2007 figures of 9,885 oz at $662/oz. - As of March 31, 2008, cash and cash equivalents totaled $99.8 million including $3.1 million of restricted cash, mostly related to foreign exchange hedges. - In Q1 2008, the Company produced 21,414 oz of gold at an average cash cost of $428/oz compared to 12,129 oz at an average cash cost of $273/oz during the same period last year. In addition to the reasons explained below under the Turmalina and Sabara highlights, costs for Q1 2008 were impacted by the weaker US dollar against the Brazilian real. The average exchange rate in Q1 2008 was R$1.74/US$1.00 compared to R$2.11/US$1.00 in Q1 2007. - In Q1 2008, Turmalina produced 17,155 oz of gold at an average cash cost of $387/oz compared to 7,423 oz at an average cash cost of $206/oz in Q1 2007. During March of this year, operations at Turmalina were slightly impacted by required maintenance to the crushing circuit and one of the two milling circuits. A total of four days of production were effectively lost in order to complete the necessary repairs. Other factors contributed to the increase in costs from 2007, including the switch from processing principally oxide ore during the start-up phase to sulfide ore, the inclusion of a paste- fill circuit, lower than optimal recovery rates, and selective grade management during the optimization process. - In Q1 2008, Sabara produced 4,259 oz of gold at an average cash cost of $594/oz compared to 4,706 oz at an average cash cost of $378/oz in the same period in 2007. Cash operating costs in the most recent quarter were primarily impacted by lower grades, as expected. The feed grade of ore processed in Q1 2008 averaged 1.61 g/t compared to 2.9 g/t in Q1 2007. Production from the new higher grade Serra Paraiso mineralized zone located near the Sabara Plant is scheduled to begin in Q3 2008. - Commissioning of the Paciencia Operation is underway with all circuits fully charged and ore processing underway. The Company expects the first pour of gold from this new operation to take place during the next several weeks. - The Turmalina Expansion feasibility study has essentially been completed and is undergoing final review. Based on this work and an approximate 70 percent conversion rate to previously reported resources, Jaguar expects to report 127,000 oz of reserves associated with the Satinoco ore body. - The Caeté Project feasibility study is in the final stage of preparation. Based on the work completed to date and assuming a 75 percent conversion rate, Jaguar expects to report reserves of approximately 825,000 oz at the Pilar and Roça Grande ore bodies. - During Q1 2008, the Company eliminated its forward gold contracts and the remaining debt associated with the term note to complete the Turmalina build-out. The Company has no forward production hedged. >> Commenting on the Q1 results, Daniel R. Titcomb, Jaguar's President andCEO stated, "Our team's first quarter accomplishments, where we eliminated ourterm debt and forward sales contracts, completed the construction ofPaciencia, raised the growth capital to help fund our new plan to reach700,000 oz by 2014 and completed the vast portion of the feasibility studieswhich we expect will nearly double Jaguar's reserve base, highlight some ofthe steps we are taking to add shareholder value." Mr. Titcomb added, "With the commissioning of Paciencia now underway andthat element of risk eliminated, we continue to demonstrate our ability todeliver projects on time and on budget. Another key milestone that we expectthis month is the completion of the feasibility studies for the expansion ofTurmalina and the Caeté Project. This will allow us to report reserveadditions that we expect will nearly double Jaguar's existing base to twomillion ounces. During the remainder of 2008, we will continue to advanceunderground development and exploration with the goal of identifying newresources and accelerating our growth as we begin construction on theTurmalina expansion and the Caeté Project." << 2008 First Quarter Results A summary of key operating results follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1 2008 Q1 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales ($000) $ 18,797 $ 6,542 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces sold 20,344 9,885 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average realized price $ / ounce $ 924 $ 662 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross profit ($000) $ 7,336 $ 3,362 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) ($000) $ 839 $ (496) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - per share basic and diluted $ 0.01 $ (0.01) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted avg. no. of shares outstanding - basic 59,430,887 48,384,918 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted avg. no. of shares outstanding - diluted 63,768,136 48,384,918 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Approximately 41% of the Company's cash and cash equivalents of$99.8 million including $3.1 million of restricted cash held at March 31, 2008were in accounts in Brazil. Variations in the relative currencies (Canadiandollar versus US dollar versus Brazilian real) will likely give rise torealized and unrealized credits or charges in future periods, which couldmaterially impact the Company's reported income. Additional details are available in the Company's filings on SEDAR andEDGAR, including Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditionand Results of Operations and Interim Consolidated Financial Statements forthe period ended March 31, 2008.