ASX-listed gold mining giants to watch out for

Highlights: 

• All the 11 significant sectors under the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed in red territory on Wednesday.
• A-REIT sector was the worst performing one on ASX today.
• The S&P/ASX 200 Materials sector closed 2.04% lower on ASX.

ASX was painted in red on Wednesday (14 September 2022), as all the 11 significant shares under the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index posted huge losses. A-REIT proved to be the worst performing sector today, shedding 4.18%. Information Technology sector followed losing 3.15%. Consumer Discretionary sector ended 3.13% lower.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials sector (INDEXASX:XMJ) closed 2.32% lower today (14 September 2022).

This article primarily features the respective performances of some significant ASX-listed gold stocks- Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM), Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX:NST), Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX:SLR), Perseus Mining Limited (ASX:PRU), Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN).

Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM)

Leading gold mining company Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM) shares closed in the red zone on Wednesday. Newcrest’s share price stood at AU$17.200 per share, down 2.934% on ASX today.

Newcrest ended previous financial year (FY22) on a positive note. As per the company, it delivered strong operating income in FY22, which supported its final dividend payment in the given period.

Newcrest’s underlying profit in FY22 was AU$872 million. Furthermore, the company reported AU$1,680 million of cash flows from operating activities in the given period. Backed by strong earnings, Newcrest declared to pay a final dividend of 20 US cents per share to its eligible shareholders on 29 September 2022.

In FY22, Newcrest’s balance sheet remained strong within the company’s financial policy targets. The net debt stood at AU$1.3 billion in FY22, with a leverage ratio of 0.6 times and a gearing ratio of 10.2%.

In the last 12 months, Newcrest’s share price has marked a loss of around 30% on ASX. On a year-to-date basis, Newcrest’s share price dropped by 29.77% on ASX (as of 4:10 PM AEST today).

Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX:NST)

Gold production and exploration company Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX:NST) shares fell 3.62% to close at AU$7.73 per share on ASX today.

On 29 August 2022, Northern Star informed that it intends to undertake an on-market share buy-back program. Considering the company’s expected operating profit, the board of Northern Star has approved the share buy-back program for up to AU$300 million. The share buy-back program is about to begin from tomorrow (15 September 2022) and will be completed within the next 12 months.

Northern Star’s share price has declined approximately 20% in the last one year on ASX. On a year-to-date basis, Northern Star’s share price declined almost 18% on ASX (as of 4:10 PM AEST today).

Image source: © Bashta | Megapixl.com

Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX:SLR) 

Australia-based gold explorer and miner Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX:SLR) shares closed trading at AU$1.230 per share, down 5.75% on ASX on Wednesday.

Silver Lake is currently focused on executing its share buy-back program on ASX. As per the company’s latest update, it has purchased a total of 1,778,864 shares of its own as of the previous day. On the previous day itself, Silver Lake purchased 63,500 shares of its own.

Share buy-back is considered a healthy business practice by companies. It signifies the good health and profitability of a business. Companies that invest in their own shares seem to be confident in their own performance in near future.

The share price of Silver Lake has fallen 12.14% on ASX over the last 12 months. The gold explorer’s year-to-date-based share price marked a loss of over 30.11% on ASX (as of 4:10 PM AEST today).

Perseus Mining Limited (ASX:PRU) 

Australian gold miner Perseus Mining Limited (ASX:PRU) shares closed 3.92% lower at AU$1.477 per share on ASX today.

Perseus has recently shared its fully audited FY22 results on ASX, featuring strong financials in the given period.

Key highlights of Perseus’ FY22 financial performance: 

• Perseus’ revenue gained by 66% to AU$1,126 million in FY22, compared to the previous corresponding period (FY21).
• The company reported a gain in EBITDA by 86% in FY21 to AU$564.1 million in FY22.
• Perseus’ net profit after tax got lifted by 101% compared to FY21 to AU$279.9 million in FY22.
• The gold miner’s net cash inflows from operating activities in FY22 stood at AU$522.9 million, or 42.01 cents per share, up by 73% compared to the previous corresponding period.
• Backed by robust earnings in FY22, the board of Perseus declared to pay a final dividend of 1.64 Australian cents per share along with a bonus dividend of 0.79 Australian cents per share on 12 October 2022.

Perseus’ share price has declined almost by 6% in the last 12 months on ASX. The company’s year-to-date – based share price marked a loss of around 11% on ASX (as of 4:10 PM AEST today).

Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN) 

Leading Australian gold miner Evolution Mining Limited (ASX:EVN) shares have marked a significant loss during today’s trading session on ASX. Evolution’s shares closed 5.13% lower at AU$2.22 per share on ASX today.

In a recent update, Evolution announced that it has appointed its Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer, Lawrie Conway, as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company. The appointment of Lawrie Conway will be effective from 1 January 2023.

On the other hand, Jake Klein, the founder of Evolution Mining, will retain the role of Executive Chair and has agreed to sign a new contract under which he will continue with the company till the end of 2024.

Within the span of the last 12 months, Evolution’s share price has declined 44.08% on ASX. On year-to-date basis, Evolution’s share price has come down 45.59% on ASX (as of 4:10 PM AEST today).