RE:RE:RE:Market MakerT-jay, I am totally serious based on a close reading of the latest financial report, which is Q3 2021. They made a paper profit based on the book value of net assets, but basically all the money they made was sunk into stripping the new pits and other required capital costs. In the end they were left with less cash than 9 months earlier. In fact the level of cash was so low that they had to increase net borrowing. The sale of the gold bars held at the end of Q3 would improve the situation somewhat, but not dramatically.
The best table to look at in the Q3 report is the cash flow statement on page 6. Operating cash flow for 9 months was $24 million. But $27 million had to be reinvested in equipment and mining just to keep on mining (hence the huge increase in AISC for the period, blowing out their predictions). Cash on hand decreased by $5 million for the period, with a slight increase in the amount of debt. If you factor in the unsold gold bars, you could say they basically broke even in terms of cash over the 9 months.
No doubt they are regretting the dividend paid in 2020, because now they are not generating enough cash to acquire or develop any new project, let alone continue paying dividends.
Now the big question is, after that big pre-stripping expense, are they really going to generate significant profits going forward? Or will deeper pits, higher costs and low grades continue to eat away at their operating margins? Are you willing to give them the benefit of the doubt after such a major screw-up as 2021?