B2Gold Corp. (BTG, Financial) is a miner to watch in 2018.
The company is forecasting an average consolidated gold production of 930,000 ounces for 2018. Compared to 2017, this represents a 47.5% transformational growth, which is supported by the entry of the Fekola mine in Mali.Â
Thanks to the Malian asset, the 2017 gold production exceeded the guidance limit that was established by the company during the year. The expectation was that the asset would produce between 580,000 ounces and 625,000 ounces of gold.In 2017, B2Gold Corp. produced 630,565 ounces of gold, a 14.6% increase from 2016.
The chart below illustrates B2Gold Corp.’s annual gold production over the last five years.
B2Gold Corp. runs five mines. Fekola mine generated 17.7% of the company’s total production of gold, Masbate (the Philippines) 32.1%, Otjikoto (Namibia) 30.4%, La Libertad (Nicaragua) 13% and El Limon (Nicaragua) 6.8%.
In addition, the company also released revenue figures for 2017 and informed the market about its expectations on costs for 2017 and 2018. Consolidated revenue came in at $739.5 million in 2017, an 8.2% increase from 2016.Â
The chart below offers readers a picture of B2Gold Corp.’s yearly revenues over the last five fiscal years.
Cash-operating costs and all-in sustaining costs for full fiscal 2017 are expected not to exceed $610 per ounce and $940 per ounce of metal sold.
For fiscal 2018, B2Gold Corp. estimates cash-operating costs of $505 to $550 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $780 to $830 per ounce of metal sold.
The company plans to invest about $52.4 million in exploration activities with a special focus on those in Nicaragua and West Africa.
B2Gold Corp is trading at $2.94 per share on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of $2.824 billion. The price-book (P/B) ratio is 1.85 versus an industry median of 2.01 and the EV-to-EBITDA ratio is 15.47 versus an industry median of 10.14. B2Gold Corp has an EBITDA margin of 33.5% while the industry has a margin of 22.8%.
For the 52 weeks through Jan. 11, the stock gained 7.30% and outperformed the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX, Financial) by nearly 4%:
Source: Yahoo Finance
B2Gold Corp has a 52-week range of $2.15 to 3.55.
The stock is currently above the 50, 100 and 200-SMA lines:
With a RSI (14) of almost 54, it looks like the stock has yet reached neither overbought nor oversold levels.
The recommendation rating is 1.5 out of 5. Only one analyst has produced its target price on B2Gold Corp to date, which is $3.50. This means that this analyst foresees a 19% appreciation of the stock before Jan 2019.Â
Among B2Gold Corp's top institutional holders, FMR, LLC stands out with 14.47% of shares outstanding and Van Eck Associates Corporation with 11.18% as of Sept. 29.
The company is reporting 979.17 million shares outstanding.
(Disclosure: I have no positions in B2Gold Corp.)
