Canada's Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), announced a new $1 billion share buyback program as higher gold prices helped the company beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
The company's U.S.-listed shares rose 1.5% in pre-market trading as the gold miner also doubled its free cash flow in the quarter.
Gold prices rose more than 27% in 2024, their biggest annual increase since 2010, driven by safe-haven demand, interest rate cuts and central bank buying. Higher gold prices boosted gold miners' profits last year as they earned more extracting and selling the yellow metal.
Barrick said its average realized gold prices rose to $2,657 per ounce in the fourth quarter from $1,986 per ounce last year.
It scrapped its previous share buyback program, which had been in place since Feb. 14, 2024, after repurchasing $498 million under it last year. However, Barrick on Wednesday cut its gold production forecast for the year to between 3.2 million ounces and 3.5 million ounces, from 3.9 million ounces in 2024, following the temporary closure of its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali.
Barrick closed the mine in January amid an ongoing dispute with authorities in the West African country over a new mining law that seeks to sharply increase royalty taxes and state ownership of mining projects. The closure has also affected Barrick's share price performance, the company said.
Since Reuters exclusively reported in September that Mali's government board arrested four Barrick employees, the company's shares had fallen more than 10% by Tuesday's close.
CEO Mark Bristow said Barrick is still "open to constructive engagement" with the government and added that a mutually beneficial solution could still be found.
The company's 2024 gold production was also lower than the 4 million ounces in 2023, largely due to a slower-than-expected ramp-up at the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.
On an adjusted basis, Barrick posted a profit of 46 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with estimates of 41 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, all-in sustaining costs (AISC), an industry metric reflecting total expenditures, increased to $1,451 per ounce in the quarter from $1,364 per ounce last year.