LONDON: Endeavour Mining plc, a leading gold producer listed on the LSE, TSX, and OTCQX, has reported a triumphant close to the fiscal year 2023. The company is celebrating a production milestone of 1.1 million ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $967 per ounce, alongside an impressive adjusted EBITDA of $1 billion.

In the fourth quarter alone, Endeavour produced 280,000 ounces at an AISC of $947 per ounce, contributing to the full year’s total of 1,072,000 ounces. This marks the 11th year in a row that the company has met or exceeded its production guidance, maintaining an industry-leading position.

Financially, the company’s adjusted net earnings stood at $42 million for Q4 and $230 million for the full year. Operating cash flow before working capital changes was reported at $246 million for Q4 and $746 million for FY-2023, reflecting a robust financial performance.

Endeavour has demonstrated a strong commitment to shareholder returns, with a FY-2023 dividend payout of $200 million and share buybacks totaling $66 million, surpassing the minimum commitment by 52%. Since the first payment in Q1-2021, shareholder returns have reached a total of $903 million, which is 77% above the minimum commitment.

The company’s growth projects, Sabodala-Massawa and Lafigué, are both on budget and on schedule to commence gold production in Q2-2024. Endeavour’s measured and indicated (M&I) resources have grown by 6% year-on-year to 26.7 million ounces, with the Tanda-Iguela project seeing a 303% increase in M&I resources to 4.5 million ounces. Despite a 9% decrease in proven and probable (P&P) reserves due to depletion, the company is focusing on resource to reserve conversion in 2024.

With a healthy balance sheet, a net debt of $555 million, and a leverage ratio of 0.50x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, Endeavour Mining is poised for continued success and shareholder value creation in the coming years.

Ian Cockerill, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “I am delighted to have been appointed CEO of Endeavour at such a pivotal moment. As you can see from our 2023 results, Endeavour is well positioned with a high-quality portfolio and a resilient business model that is underpinned by a disciplined approach to capital allocation.

During the year we delivered against our key objectives and produced 1.1Moz of gold, meeting our production guidance for the eleventh consecutive year, while achieving an all-in sustaining cost of $967 per ounce, maintaining our status as one of the lowest cost producers within the sector.

We continued to increase the quality of our portfolio as we advanced our two high-margin development projects, the Sabodala-Massawa expansion and the Lafigué development project, which are both on budget and slightly ahead of schedule with commissioning underway at both projects. We also divested our non-core Boungou and Wahgnion mines during the year, further strengthening the quality of the portfolio and increasing its geographic diversification.

Our exploration programme continues to support our robust project pipeline, with the addition of 3.4 million ounces of Indicated resources at our Tanda-Iguela discovery in Côte d’Ivoire. This 4.5 million ounce discovery is not only one of the most significant discoveries in West Africa in the last ten years, but a potential tier 1 deposit for Endeavour, that we discovered for an industry low cost of $11 per ounce.

In addition to investing over $548 million in organic growth and exploration during the year, we returned $266 million to our shareholders, through dividends and share buybacks. We returned $227 dollars for every ounce of gold that we produced, reiterating our commitment to delivering attractive shareholder returns.

The foundations are in place for 2024 to be a transformational year of delivery. I am focused on completing our growth projects and transitioning to a more cash generative phase, that will prioritise de-levering the balance sheet and delivering enhanced shareholder returns, ensuring that the growth that we unlock, immediately benefits all our stakeholders.”