Eldorado Gold, Goldcorp Kick-Off Reporting Season for Miners

Eldorado Gold (EGO) and Goldcorp (GG) were the first two large-cap gold mining companies to report their 2012 fourth quarter operational results, as they announced their production figures this morning.

Eldorado reported quarterly and full-year 2012 production of 193,575 and 659,369 ounces, respectively.  Cash costs came in at $523 and $489 per ounce.  TD Securities analyst Steven Green noted that the production data was in-line with his estimates but that cash costs missed expectations.

As for the Company’s forward guidance, Eldorado forecast 2013 production of 705,000-760,000 ounces at $515-$530 per ounce.  This compared unfavorably to Green’s projections of 776,758 ounces at $487 per ounce.

In his report, the TD Securities analyst wrote that “It was a solid Q4, however the market focus will be on guidance.  We believe the company is resetting production expectations lower, similar to what we are seeing with its peers to set readily achievable targets.  Even with the reduced targets however, the company remains the growth leader amongst its peers with well below average costs.”

Shares of EGO slid $0.20, or 1.6%, to $12.23 in afternoon trading.

Goldcorp (GG) announced quarterly production of 2.39 million ounces, which fell at the low of end of the Company’s previously-issued guidance.  Looking ahead, the Canadian-based gold miner forecasted 2013 production of 2.55-2.80 million ounces at $700-$750 per ounce.

Commenting on Goldcorp’s results, RBC Capital Markets noted that the 2013 is far short of its own forecast of 2.88 million ounces at $584 per ounce.  As a result, the firm lowered its price target on GG to $49.00 from $55.00, but did however reiterate its Outperform rating.

Shares of GG retreated as well, by $0.51, or 1.4%, to $35.64 on Wednesday.

As for the gold stocks sector in general, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) fell by $0.48, or 1.1%, to $44.17 per share this afternoon.

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