Mountain Province Diamonds Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2023 Results

TORONTO, April 1, 2024

TORONTO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province Diamonds", or the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) (OTC: MPVD) today announces its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ("the Quarter" or "Q4 2023") and the full year ended December 31, 2023 ("FY 2023").

All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted and are unaudited.

FY 2023 Highlights

• 43% improvement in key site safety KPI (TRIFR) in 2023 vs 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $165.0 million, down 8% relative to 2022 (2022: $178.6 million).
• Total sales revenue at $328.6 million (US$243.8 million) compared to $388.9 million in 2022 (US$297.3 million: at an average realized value of $121 per carat (US$90) 2022: $146 per carat (US$112).
• Repaid US$18 million in Senior Secured Second Lien Notes.
• 9% increase in total tonnes mined in 2023 relative to 2022, coupled with a 5% increase in tonnes treated.
• Net loss of $43.7 million or $0.21 loss per share (2022: net income $49.2 million or $0.23 earnings per share. Included in the determination of net loss is an impairment loss on property, plant and equipment of $104.6 million and foreign exchange gains of $6.6 million (2022: foreign exchange loss of $28.2 million) on the translation of the Company's USD-denominated long-term debt. The unrealized foreign exchange gains are a result of the relative strengthening of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar.

Operational Highlights for Q4 2023 and FY 2023
(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)

• 1,572,696 carats recovered during the Quarter at an average grade of 1.84 carats per tonne, 3% lower than the comparable quarter in 2022 (Q4 2022: 1,621,800 carats at 1.96 carats per tonne). 5,557,655 carats recovered during FY 2023 at an average grade of 1.71 carats per tonne, 1% higher than the comparable period (full year ended December 31, 2022 ("FY 2022"): 5,519,309 at 1.78 carats per tonne).
• 1,895,492 ore tonnes mined during the quarter, a 169% increase on the comparable period in 2022 (Q4 2022: 705,924). 3,807,102 ore tonnes mined during FY 2023, a 7% decrease from 2022 (FY 2022: 4,113,648).
• 855,319 ore tonnes treated during the quarter, a 3% increase on the comparable period in 2022 (Q4 2022: 828,644). 3,249,963 ore tonnes treated during FY 2023, a 5% increase from 2022 (FY 2022: 3,102,219).
• 9,831,021 total tonnes mined during the quarter, a 3% decrease on the comparable period (Q4 2022: 10,144,844). 37,147,350 total tonnes mined during FY 2023, a 9% increase from 2022 (FY 2022: 33,947,188).

Q4 2023 and FY 2023 Production Statistics

	Q4 2023 ARIVA.DE Börsen-Geflüster Kurse Mountain Province Diamonds 0,122 $ -3,32%	Q4 2022	YoY Variance
Total tonnes mined (ore and waste)	9,831,021	10,144,844	-3 %
Ore tonnes mined	1,895,492	705,924	169 %
Ore tonnes treated	855,319	828,644	3 %
Diamonds recovered	1,572,696	1,621,800	-3 %
Carats recovered (49% share)	770,621	794,682	-3 %
Recovered grade (carats per tonne)	1.84	1.96	-6 %

Financial Highlights for Q4 2023

• 918,000 carats sold (Q4 2022: 758,000), with total proceeds of $79.8 million (US$58.9 million) at an average realized value of $87 per carat (US$64), compared to $96.3 million in Q4 2022, (US$71.3 million), at an average realized value of $127 per carat, (US$94).
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $39.8 million.
• Earnings from mine operations of $25.6 million.
• Cash costs of $93 per tonne treated and $50 per carat recovered, include capitalized stripping costs¹.
• Net loss of $75.8 million or $0.36 loss per share.  Included in the determination of net loss for Q4 2023, is an impairment loss on property, plant and equipment of $104.6 million and foreign exchange gains of $6.7 million, on the translation of the Company's USD-denominated long-term debts. The unrealized foreign exchange gains are a result of the relative strengthening of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar.

Financial Highlights for FY 2023

• Total sales revenue at $328.6 million (US$243.8 million) at an average realized value of $121 per carat (US$90) compared to $388.9 million in 2022 (US$297.3 million sales revenue at an average realized value of $146 per carat, (US$112).
• Adjusted EBITDA² of $165.0 million down 8% (2022: $178.6 million).
• Earnings from mine operations of $102.4 million (2022: earnings from mine operations $170.5 million).
• Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs^2,3 of $129 per tonne treated (2022: $122 per tonne) and $75 per carat recovered (2022: $69 per carat).
• Net loss of $43.7 million or $0.21 loss per share (2022: net income $49.2 million or $0.23 earnings per share. Included in the determination of net loss is an impairment loss on property, plant and equipment of $104.6 million and foreign exchange gains of $6.6 million (2022: loss of $28.2 million) on the translation of the Company's USD-denominated long-term debt. The unrealized foreign exchange gains are a result of the relative strengthening of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar.
• Capital expenditures were $83.3 million, $74.4 million of which were deferred stripping costs, with the remaining $8.9 million accounting for sustaining capital expenditures related to mine operations.

Market Highlights and Commentary for Q4 2023 and FY 2023

In Q4 2023, 918,000 carats were sold at an average value of $87 per carat (US$64 per carat) for total proceeds of $79.8 million (US$58.9 million) in comparison to 758,000 carats sold at an average value of $127 per carat (US$94 per carat) for total proceeds of $96.3 million (US$71.3 million) in Q4 2022. 

During FY 2023, 2,718,000 carats were sold at an average value of $121 per carat (US$90 per carat) for total proceeds of $328.6 million (US$243.8 million) in comparison to 2,657,000 carats sold at an average value of $146 per carat (US$112 per carat) for total proceeds of $388.9 million (US$297.3 million. 

After a record-breaking previous year, 2023 was more challenging for the diamond industry. Retail activity and consumer demand softened in the US and Europe amid global inflation concerns and ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East. Chinese retail remained persistently quiet.

Towards the end of the third quarter, major producers postponed or cancelled sales until more favourable market conditions prevailed. The Company elected to strategically stock select categories of goods to defend prices. In October, India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, representing Indian manufacturers, introduced a two-month self-imposed import ban. These supply-tightening measures reduced manufacturers' inventories and moved polished goods downstream for the retail holiday season and anticipated restocking. By year end, diamond prices had steadied, and the Company sold most of its strategic stock at a premium to withdrawn prices. 

Mountain Province Diamonds President and CEO Mark Wall commented:

"Coming from record 2022 where multiple Company financial records were broken, 2023 saw reduced revenues primarily due to a softening market. Driven by this softening, the Company, along with its JV partner De Beers Group, made the prudent decision to limit discretionary spending, including continuing internal studies on a potential transition to underground mining at Gahcho Kué to extend mine life. The Company intends to take all reasonable steps to maintain the underground mining optionality.

Despite the challenging market in H2, during 2023 the Company paid down US$18 million in senior secured second lien notes. While we would have preferred to pay down more, this is aligned with our strategy to pay down debt principal as cash flows allow, to maintain financial flexibility.

Operationally, 2023 saw improvements on certain key metrics, including an increase in tonnes treated of 3.25 million tonnes in 2023 vs 3.10 million tonnes in 2022, primarily driven by improvement post the mid-2023 major plant shut-down.

Moving into 2024, the Company faces a lower production year due to the effects of mine sequencing and grade profile changes, all normal occurrences in open pit diamond mining. This lower production year was anticipated, and the mine remains on-track to achieve the previously stated 2024 production guidance of 4.2 - 4.7 million carats at the JV level and 2.3 - 2.6 million carats sold at the Company level.

On the rough diamond market, we continue to monitor developments closely as many factors are integrated in the market dynamic. Initial stages of a recent G7 sanction banning imports of Russian-origin rough diamonds have increased efforts through the diamond pipeline to track and promote diamond's origin tracing. This could yield a positive impact on demand for Canadian origin goods, and the Company is reviewing opportunities."

Gahcho Kué Mine Operations

The following table summarizes the key operating statistics for Q4 2023 and FY 2023, and the previous year, at the Gahcho Kué Mine.

		Three months ended	Three months ended	Year ended	Year ended
		December 31, 2023	December 31, 2022	December 31, 2023	December 31, 2022
GK operating data
Mining
*Ore tonnes mined	kilo tonnes	1,895	706	3,807	4,114
*Waste tonnes mined	kilo tonnes	7,936 Werbung Mehr Nachrichten zur Mountain Province Diamonds Aktie kostenlos abonnieren E-Mail-Adresse Bitte überprüfe deine die E-Mail-Adresse. Benachrichtigungen von ARIVA.DE (Mit der Bestellung akzeptierst du die Datenschutzhinweise) -1 Vielen Dank, dass du dich für unseren Newsletter angemeldet hast. Du erhältst in Kürze eine E-Mail mit einem Aktivierungslink. Hinweis: ARIVA.DE veröffentlicht in dieser Rubrik Analysen, Kolumnen und Nachrichten aus verschiedenen Quellen. Die ARIVA.DE AG ist nicht verantwortlich für Inhalte, die erkennbar von Dritten in den „News“-Bereich dieser Webseite eingestellt worden sind, und macht sich diese nicht zu Eigen. Diese Inhalte sind insbesondere durch eine entsprechende „von“-Kennzeichnung unterhalb der Artikelüberschrift und/oder durch den Link „Um den vollständigen Artikel zu lesen, klicken Sie bitte hier.“ erkennbar; verantwortlich für diese Inhalte ist allein der genannte Dritte. Andere Nutzer interessierten sich auch für folgende News 04.05.24 - wallstreet:online ... Dividenden-Überflieger: Diese sichere Aktie punktet mit einer der höchsten Dividendenrenditen 04.05.24 - XTB GOLD: Gefahr von weiteren Rücksetzern steigt! 04.05.24 - Inult Ad-hoc am Samstag: Triggermeldung für nächste 300%-Rallye? Kursverdopplung mit Gap-Close? InnoCan Pharma    Multi-Milliarden-Wert in diesem Pennystock?! weiterlesen» Anzeige wo-site-teaser-box-16836_site-teaser-box_2024-05-04_09%253A00%253A00_2024-05-05_09%253A00%253A59