Kirkland Lake Gold: Another Blowout Quarter In Q2
Jul. 22, 2021 2:20 AM ETKirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL)11 Comments25 Likes
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Taylor Dart
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Summary
Kirkland Lake Gold released its Q2 results last week, reporting quarterly gold production of ~379,200 ounces, a 25% increase sequentially, and 15% increase year-over-year.
While the company was lapping an easy comp on a year-over-year basis due to COVID-19 restrictions, all of the company's operations performed exceptionally, and guidance is looking conservative.
Looking ahead, we should see solid growth year-over-year in Q2 2022 as well despite lapping a record quarter, with Macassa and Detour likely to see much higher output.
I continue to see Kirkland Lake Gold as the sector's top buy-the-dip candidate, and I would view pullbacks below $38.00 as low-risk buying opportunities.
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It's been a rough few weeks for the Gold Miners Index (GDX), and with the gold price (GLD) sliding back towards the $1,800/oz level, higher-cost producers with all-in costs near $1,500/oz are set to see significant margin compression (barring a gold price rebound). Fortunately, Kirkland Lake Gold (KL) investors shouldn't be losing any sleep. This is because the recent Canadian Dollar weakness is a minor tailwind to unit costs, and the company expects all-in sustaining cost [AISC] margins above $900/oz in FY2021, even at current gold prices. With another outstanding quarter under the company's belt, I continue to see Kirkland Lake Gold as a top-5 gold producer and a buy on sharp dips.
(Source: Company Presentation)
Kirkland Lake Gold released its preliminary Q2 results last week and reported quarterly production of ~379,200 ounces of gold, a 15% increase year-over-year and a 25% jump sequentially. While this growth was partially due to an easy year-over-year comp for the company due to COVID-19 related restrictions from the Ontario government (Macassa & Detour Lake), the exceptional performance of the portfolio should not be understated. Notably, Detour Lake had its best quarter yet following the acquisition, and Fosterville is on track to trounce guidance, helped by grade outperformance. Meanwhile, outside of the company's control, the US Dollar (UUP) is finally strengthening vs. the Canadian Dollar, providing a minor tailwind for unit costs relative looking into H2 2021. Let's take a closer look below:
(Source: TC2000.com)
As the chart above shows, the Canadian Dollar's strength vs. the US Dollar was making it more challenging for Kirkland Lake to beat its cost guidance of ~$800/oz for FY2021, with two of its mines based in Canada. However, since June, the Canadian Dollar is up nearly 7% vs. the US Dollar, which has taken this headwind off of Kirkland Lake, in addition to higher fuel costs. Obviously, things could change dramatically between now and year-end, and there's no reason to believe this rally has to hold. However, with increased ventilation at Macassa with the
#4 Shaft Project ahead of schedule, significantly less COVID-19 cases in Ontario, and a weaker Canadian Dollar, the company has fewer potential disruptions to costs and operations. This sets the company up for a very strong H2.
Kirkland Lake noted that the first ventilation raise at Macassa is expected to be completed by now, with the second in H1 2022, adding 200,000 cubic feet per minute of additional ventilation into the mine.
(Source: CityNews.ca)
Moving over to production, Kirkland Lake had an exceptional quarter, trouncing its production guidance mid-point of ~345,000 ounces of gold in Q2. As mentioned earlier, production came in 10% higher than guidance at ~379,200 ounces, marking the second significant quarterly beat in a row. As the chart below shows, this was a record quarter for the company, with a solid performance from Macassa (~55,300 ounces), Fosterville (~158,000 ounces), and Detour Lake (~165,900 ounces). For Macassa, this represented the second-best quarter in the past eighteen months, driven by higher throughput and higher grades relative to Q2 2020 (~90,800 tonnes processed at 19.3 grams per tonne gold).
(Source: Company Filings, Author's Chart)
It's worth noting that while production was solid at Macassa, the mine is operating at nowhere near its full potential. So, while the ~55,300 ounces in Q2 2021 was a solid result, we should see production increase to ~77,500 ounces next year based on preliminary guidance and ~105,000 in Q2 2023. This would translate to 40% growth and 90% growth, respectively, relative to this quarter's performance. This is based on much higher mining rates, with Phase 1 of the
#4 Shaft Project nearing completion. Once the
#4 Shaft Project is complete, it will allow for hoisting capacity of 4,000 tonnes per day.
(Source: Company Website)
Previously, Macassa was mine-constrained, with 2,000 tonnes per day of mill capacity, but mining rates closer to ~1,000 tonnes per day. Looking ahead, the
#4 Shaft Project will double hoisting capacity, essentially taking the 'governor' off of the operation, translating to a much higher ceiling for annual production. This is expected to translate to the production of more than ~300,000 ounces in FY2023 and up to 425,000 ounces in FY2024. The other benefits of the project in addition to increased output, are lower unit costs (sub $700/oz), improved ventilation, and more effective exploration east of the South Mine Complex. A look at how Macassa output should increase is shown below, with Macassa production represented by the pink bars.
(Source: Company Filings, Author's Chart)
Moving to Fosterville, it was an incredible quarter, though this was partially due to a shift in mine sequencing. However, while the change in mine sequencing (high-grade stopes planned for Q4 at Swan were advanced into Q2) did help with the beat, the company saw another quarter of grade outperformance as well. During Q2, Fosterville processed ~170,300 tonnes at a grade of 29.2 grams per tonne gold, with the Swan Zone accounting for 53% of tonnes milled in Q2 vs. 62% in the same period last year. So, while grades were lower (29.2 grams per tonne gold vs. 39.5 grams per tonne gold) year-over-year, strong recovery rates despite lower grades and higher throughput allowed for 2% higher output vs. Q2 2020.
(Source: Company Video)
With the mine sequencing shifted, Fosterville will not be set up for as strong of a finish to FY2021, with Q4 otherwise set to be the strongest quarter of 2021. Having said that, Fosterville is already sitting at 64.7% of its annual guidance mid-point of ~412,000 ounces, setting up Kirkland Lake for a beat on guidance in FY2021. Even if we assume just ~215,000 ounces of gold production in H2 2021, Fosterville will easily beat the top end of its FY2021 guidance of 425,000 ounces. This is based on ~266,700 ounces produced in H1 and estimates of 215,000 ounces produced in H2.
(Source: Company Presentation)
Finally, Kirkland Lake's newest operation also had a solid quarter, with production up 25% year-over-year to ~165,900 ounces. While Detour Lake was up against easy year-over-year comps due to restrictions in Q2 2020 related to COVID-19, this was the best quarter for the mine since Kirkland Lake acquired it, helped by near-record throughput (~5.89 million tonnes processed) at higher grades (0.96 grams per tonne gold vs. 0.79 grams per tonne gold in Q2 2020).
(Source: Company Filings, Author's Chart)
Detour Lake is already providing a major boost to the company's overall production profile, but the best is yet to come. This is because a new mine plan is expected in early 2022, with investors set to see how the updated reserves look after more than 300,000 meters of drilling. In addition, there's the potential to get to ~800,000 ounces quicker than expected in the FY2021 Life Of Mine Plan, with higher grades and the permits for higher throughput in place. As shown in the 2021 LOMP, production is not expected to hit 800,000 ounces until 2025. However, I would not be surprised to see gold production reach this level in 2024, which would translate to double-digit output growth for Kirkland Lake vs. 2021 levels.
(Source: Company Presentation)
Many investors continue to avoid Kirkland Lake due to a belief that the best days are behind the company, with the growth engine (Fosterville) no longer pushing out 600,000 ounces per annum. However, as the chart below shows, Detour Lake and Macassa have the potential to produce ~1.17 million ounces combined in FY2024, based on what I believe to be conservative estimates of 755,000 ounces from Detour Lake and 415,000 ounces from Macassa. Even if Fosterville produces just 380,000 ounces in FY2024, this would translate to ~1.55 million ounces of gold production on a consolidated basis, translating to 10% growth from my FY2021 production estimate of 1.41 million ounces.
(Source: Company Filings, Author's Chart)
Some investors might groan, pointing out that Detour Lake and Macassa ounces are not the same as Fosterville, with Fosterville producing at costs below $400/oz at peak production. However, with Detour Lake's AISC set to dip below $850/oz at a ~750,000-ounce run rate and Macassa's costs set to dip below $700/oz, Kirkland Lake will still be the lowest-cost million-ounce producer in the sector and should command a premium, especially considering that it operates out of the safest jurisdictions. Despite this solid outlook with 10% growth out to FY2024, which assumes no acquisitions and the highest margins in the sector, the stock trades at barely 11x earnings estimates.
(Source: YCharts.com, Author's Chart)
If we look at the earnings trend above, Kirkland Lake continues to have one of the most impressive compound annual earnings per share [EPS] growth rates among all publicly traded companies. Even if we begin from FY2016 ($0.32) due to low double-digit annual EPS in FY2015, the company's annual EPS growth will remain above 60% in FY2021 based on earnings estimates of $3.36. Critics will point out that this compound annual EPS growth rate is not sustainable and that it's set to decline substantially based on estimates of $4.02 in FY2023. This is true, and assuming Kirkland Lake only meets FY2023 estimates, the company's compound annual EPS growth rate will dip to ~43.6%.
(Source: Company Website)
While decelerating growth rates often lead to multiple compression, it's important to note that a ~43% compound annual EPS growth rate still places KL among the top 200 companies from a compound annual EPS growth rate standpoint on the US Market. Typically, these companies trade at well above 25x earnings and up to 100x earnings in Zoom Video's (ZM) case, but Kirkland Lake trades at barely 10x next year's estimates. Obviously, a lack of pricing power due to selling a commodity suggests that the company should have a significantly discounted multiple relative to peers like Zoom, DocuSign (DOCU), Crocs (CROX), and others. This suggests that Kirkland Lake should command a much lower multiple than its peers with high-octane growth rates.
However, even if we assume a discounted earnings multiple of just 15 to adjust for the cyclicality of Kirkland Lake's business, we come up with a fair value of $60.30 based on FY2023 estimates. This translates to more than 50% upside to fair value for its 18-month target price and assumes the company does not complete a small acquisition using solely cash which would be accretive to annual earnings. If Kirkland Lake were to use its ~$1.05 billion in estimated year-end cash to complete an acquisition, it could add another ~180,000 plus ounces of production by FY2024 without further share dilution.
The other avenue to grow annual EPS is through buybacks, with the potential to buy back over 21 million shares in the next two years (based solely on its current cash position (~$860 million) at the current share price of ~$40.00. This would represent an ~8% reduction in the share count and would allow for a beat on FY2023 estimates, given that Kirkland Lake should produce closer to ~1.56 million ounces in FY2023 (2021 estimates: ~1.41 million ounces) at lower costs. I believe either option or a combination of both would be an excellent use of free cash flow, and it makes sense to take advantage of the buyback program with the stock more than 40% undervalued, in my view, at current levels.
(Source: Company Presentation)
While most investors assume that the best bets in the market are those with the most upside, I believe the best bets that can be sized the largest are those with the least downside. With Kirkland Lake Gold trading at less than 10x FY2023 annual EPS estimates with 55% plus AISC margins and 10% of its market cap in cash, the stock continues to be one of the safest bets in the sector. This is because the company is a cash-flow machine at current gold prices and a defensive play on the sector in periods of declining prices, benefitting from the highest margin operations in the safest jurisdictions. Given the company's exceptional track record, ability to grow production without dilution due to its strong balance sheet, and a very reasonable valuation, I continue to see the stock as one of the best buy-the-dip candidates in the sector.