First Majestic Silver Q4 Loss Widens; Revenues Up 21% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG, FR.TO), a mining company focused on silver production in Mexico, on Monday reported fourth-quarter net loss that widened to $164.4 million or $0.85 per share from $56.1 million or $0.34 per share in the year-ago period.

The wider net loss for the quarter was primarily attributed to a non-cash impairment charge of $168.0 million, or $130.6 million net of tax, on the La Parrilla and Del Toro mines and the decrease in mine operating earnings.

After excluding non-cash and unusual items, adjusted net loss for the quarter was $0.05 per share, compared to loss of $0.04 per share in the prior-year period.

Revenues for the quarter grew 21 percent to $74.1 million from $61.2 million in the same period last year.

Mine operating earnings were a loss of $9.0 million, compared to earnings of $1.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The decrease was primarily due to the $7.5 million inventory loss due to the bankruptcy of Republic Metals, tighter margins as a result of a 13 percent decrease in average silver price, and $1.0 million in severance costs incurred during the quarter as part of the company's staff reduction initiative.

Total production for the quarter reached 6.5 million silver equivalent ounces, representing a 4 percent decrease compared to the previous quarter, consisting of 3.3 million ounces of silver, 34,487 ounces of gold, 3.3 million pounds of lead and 1.4 million pounds of zinc. The slight decrease in production was primarily due to a 5 percent decrease in consolidated silver grade and 2% decrease in tonnes milled.

The company realized a nine-year low quarterly average silver price of $14.47 per ounce, representing a 13 percent decrease compared to $16.61 per ounce in the fourth quarter of 2017.