Orezone Gold Reports Record Revenue and Net Income for 2024

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX:ORE, OTCQX:ORZCF) ("Orezone" or "Company") is pleased to report its operational and financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024, and its 2025 guidance.   All dollar amounts are in USD unless otherwise indicated and abbreviation "M" means million.

Highlights

Q4-2024 gold production of 36,502 oz, a 37% increase from the previous quarter.  

2024 gold production of 118,746 oz, exceeding the mid-point of guidance.

AISC per oz sold of $1,273 for Q4-2024 and $1,447 for 2024.

Record revenue of $283.5M from the sale of 118,697 gold oz at an average realized price of $2,384 per oz in 2024. Gold sales remain unhedged to rising gold prices.

2024 Adjusted EBITDA of $117.2M, Net Income attributable to Orezone shareholders of $55.7M and Earnings per Share attributable to Orezone shareholders of $0.14 and $0.13 on a basic and diluted basis, respectively.

Liquidity of $103.2M at year-end with cash of $74.0M and undrawn debt of $29.2M available to finance 2025 growth plans.

Stage 1 of hard rock expansion progress continues with first gold on track for Q4-2025.

Advancing work towards a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in mid-2025.

Patrick Downey, President and CEO, commented "Strong Q4-2024 gold production of 36,502 oz helped deliver another record year for revenue of $283.5 million and net income of $64.1 million while meeting annual production guidance for a second consecutive year. Importantly, Orezone commenced construction of its hard rock expansion in the second half of 2024, a main step towards sustained production growth and setting the foundation for a transformational 2025 where we expect to pour first gold on this brownfield expansion in Q4-2025. First stage of the hard rock expansion is expected to increase the Company's annual gold production to 170,000, 185,000 oz in 2026.

With continued strong gold prices and the closing of recent financings, the Company is well-placed to make further strategic investments in its Bomboré Mine by undertaking additional discovery-focused exploration on high potential targets and evaluating an accelerated start to the second stage of the hard rock expansion which would further increase annual gold production to 220,000, 250,000 oz.

The accomplishments achieved in 2024 is a testament to the strength of our team underpinned by the support of our community and government partners, and new and existing shareholders. We remain steadfast in our goal of creating lasting value for all stakeholders."

Highlights for Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2024 and Significant Subsequent Events

(All mine site figures on a 100% basis)

 

Q4-2024

Q4-2023

FY2024

FY2023

Operating Performance

 

 

 

 

 

Gold production

oz

36,502

33,916

118,746

141,425

Gold sales

oz

34,833

33,782

118,697

139,696

Average realized gold price

$/oz

2,632

1,986

2,384

1,940

Cash costs per gold ounce sold1

$/oz

1,077

1,083

1,233

972

All-in sustaining costs1 ("AISC") per gold ounce sold

$/oz

1,273

1,246

1,447

1,127

Financial Performance

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

$000s

91,837

67,580

283,517

271,491

Earnings from mine operations

$000s

45,321

16,108

117,710

97,150

Net income attributable to shareholders of Orezone1

$000s

30,091

4,012

55,711

43,146

Net income per common share attributable to shareholders of Orezone

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

$

0.06

0.01

0.14

0.12

Diluted

$

0.06

0.01

0.13

0.12

EBITDA1

$000s

48,139

15,308

128,307

108,418

Adjusted EBITDA1

$000s

45,058

26,702

117,233

120,036

Adjusted earnings attributable to shareholders of Orezone1

$000s

27,550

14,267

45,977

53,665

Adjusted earnings per share attributable to shareholders of Orezone1

$

0.06

0.04

0.11

0.15

Cash and Cash Flow Data

 

 

 

 

 

Operating cash flow before changes in working capital

$000s

52,520

28,167

98,444

123,029

Operating cash flow

$000s

28,020

13,891

57,697

79,950

Free cash flow1

$000s

12,543

682

11,725

36,172

Cash, end of period

$000s

74,021

19,483

74,021

19,483

1 Cash costs, AISC, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted earnings, Adjusted earnings per share, and Free cash flow are non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" section below for additional information.

Full Year 2024 Highlights

Outstanding Safety Performance: 5.4M hours worked without a lost-time injury and a low total recordable injury frequency rate of 0.75.

Strong Liquidity: Available liquidity of $103.2M at year-end with $74.0M in cash and XOF 17.5 billion ($29.2M) available to be drawn on the Phase II debt facility with Coris Bank International ("Coris Bank"). The Company is well-funded to carry out its 2025 growth plans including the completion of stage 1 of the Phase II hard rock expansion and a minimum 20,000 m diamond drilling exploration program.    

Gold Production Guidance Achieved: Gold production of 118,746 oz which exceeded the mid-point of guidance, marking the second consecutive year that the Bomboré Mine has met production guidance since the start up of operations.

AISC Per Oz Within Updated Guidance: AISC per oz of $1,447 was within the updated guidance range with operating costs impacted by higher-than-anticipated government royalties and power costs. Relative to original guidance, government royalties were $31 per oz higher due to a better realized gold price and power costs were $57 per oz higher from lower-than-normal grid availability due to regional power issues in the H1-2024. These two cost overrun contributors were both out of the Company's control and if their cost impacts were removed, original AISC guidance of $1,300 per oz to $1,375 per oz would have been met.

Record Annual Revenue: Revenue of $283.5M from the sale of 118,697 gold oz at a realized gold price of $2,384 per oz. The Company's gold sales remain unhedged to rising gold prices.

Record EBITDA, Net Income, and Earnings Per Share: Reported record EBITDA of $128.3M and net income attributable to Orezone shareholders of $55.7M, primarily driven by a 23% increase in the realized gold price from the prior year. Net income per share attributable to Orezone shareholders was a record $0.14 per share on a basic basis and $0.13 per share on a diluted basis.

Continued Free Cash Flow Generation: Generated free cash flow of $11.7M with cash flow from operating activities totalling $98.4M after deducting taxes paid of $26.2M but before changes in non-cash working capital. Non-cash working capital increased by $40.7M primarily from the build-up of VAT receivables and long-term ore stockpiles. Cash flow used in investing activities totalled $46.0M as capital expenditures remained elevated as the Company executes on its growth initiatives including the Phase II hard rock expansion.

Phase II Hard Rock Expansion on Track for First Gold in 2025: The Company's Board approved a positive construction decision on stage 1 of the Phase II hard rock expansion on July 10, 2024 after the Company had secured $105M in binding debt and equity commitments described below for the construction. Under stage 1, a 2.5M tonnes per annum ("tpa") process plant will be built to recover gold from hard rock mineral reserves which is expected to increase future production levels by 50% to over 170,000 oz per annum. First gold for stage 1 of the Phase II expansion remains on track for Q4-2025 with commercial production expected shortly thereafter in early 2026.

Phase I Debt Reduced, Bridge Loan Repaid, and Phase II Expansion Financing Secured: Principal repayments totalling XOF 24.0 billion ($39.3M) were made on the Company's senior borrowings with Coris Bank, including the extinguishment of the XOF 12.0 billion ($19.8M) bridge loan. On August 8, 2024, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement for net proceeds of C$64.8M ($47.3M) with a new cornerstone investor, Nioko Resources Corporation ("Nioko"), a leading West African investment group. On December 19, 2024, the Company successfully upsized its senior debt facility with Coris Bank through a new term loan for XOF 35.0 billion ($58.3M) ("Phase II Term Loan") to be drawn in multiple tranches as construction progresses. The Company made its first drawdown of XOF 17.5 billion ($27.9M) on the Phase II Term Loan in December 2024.

Multi-year Exploration Drill Program Initiated: In August 2024, the Company initiated a multi-year discovery focused drill program with an initial 30,000 m of drilling designed to test the broader size and scale of the Bomboré mineralized system. Initial results from drilling at the North Zone intercepted mineralization 240 m below the current reserve pit limit, including 1.67 g/t gold over 46.00 m, demonstrating the continuity and robustness of the mineralized system at depth, both in terms of grade and overall width (see October 10, 2024 news release).

Q4-2024 Highlights

Gold Production: Quarterly gold production of 36,502 oz increased 37% from Q3-2024 as a result of record plant throughput and improved head grades. Mining extended to Siga East and Siga South pits for a full quarter which contributed a greater blend of soft oxide ore at higher grades to the mill feed.

AISC Per Oz: AISC per oz sold was $1,273 per oz, a 23% decrease from Q3-2024, driven mainly by improved gold production as a result of higher grades and better plant throughput.

EBITDA, Net Income, and Earnings Per Share: Reported EBITDA of $48.1M and net income attributable to Orezone shareholders of $30.1M. Net income per share attributable to Orezone shareholders was $0.06 per share on both a basic and diluted basis.

Free Cash Flow: Generated free cash flow of $12.5M with cash flow from operating activities totalling $52.5M after deducting taxes paid of $6.3M but before changes in non-cash working capital. Cash flow used in investing activities totalled $15.5M as expenditures for the Phase II hard rock expansion began to ramp up.

Events Subsequent to 2024 Year-End

Bought Deal Offering: On March 13, 2025, the Company closed on a public offering of common shares on a bought deal basis with Canaccord Genuity Corp. ("Canaccord") pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell 42,683,000 common shares at a price of C$0.82 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of C$35,000,060. Net proceeds from the offering will be used to conduct early works for stage 2 of the Phase II hard rock expansion and for additional exploration. Under stage 2, processing capacity of the hard rock plant will double from the 2.5Mtpa design in stage 1 to 5.0Mtpa after completion of stage 2.

Over-allotment Exercise: Canaccord has exercised its over-allotment in full on the bought deal offering and has agreed to purchase an additional 6,402,450 common shares at a price of C$0.82 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of C$5,250,009. The purchase of shares from the over-allotment closed on March 19, 2025.

Private Placement with Nioko: The Company has announced that Nioko intends to acquire, on a non-brokered private placement basis, for 10,719,659 additional common shares at a price of C$0.82 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of C$8,790,121 to maintain its 19.9% share ownership (before the over-allotment exercise). Closing of this private placement is subject to approval of the TSX and is anticipated to occur in late March 2025.

Intention to List on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX"): The Company intends to pursue a secondary listing on the ASX by mid-2025, subject to market conditions and the satisfaction of ASX listing requirements as announced in its February 23, 2025 press release. The Company believes a dual listing on the ASX will increase trading liquidity and allow it to access a deeper pool of investors, including specialist mining focused funds.

2024 Performance and 2025 Guidance

2024 Performance Compared Against Guidance

Bomboré Mine (100% basis)

Unit

OriginalFY2024 Guidance

RevisedFY2024 Guidance4

FY2024Actuals

Gold production

Au oz

110,000, 125,000

Unchanged

 118,746

All-In Sustaining Costs123

$/oz Au sold