Apex Mining Co. recorded a 14% drop in its net earnings for the first quarter of 2023 following higher expenses.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Apex Mining said its consolidated net income was at Php 548.8 million for the first quarter, 14% lower than the Php 645.5 million recorded in the same period in 2022.
Consolidated gross revenues were at Php 2.6 billion, which is 15.62% higher than last year’s Php 2.2 billion.
Excise taxes also jumped 12% to Php 99.13 million, while general and administrative expenses rose by 62% to Php 62.84 million. Finance costs and other charges also surged by 52% to Php 98.18 million.
The Maco Mine milled a total of 182,639 tonnes, down six percent due to “a series of force majeure events occurred within the period, forcing intermittent work stoppages, mostly for risk assessments and safety checks.”
“All these disruptions totaled 5.74 workdays,” Apex Mining said, citing that the mining operations were affected after earthquakes and aftershocks caused power interruptions. Heavy rains also contributed to the slowed operations.
However, gold recovery increased to 88.77% from 87.26%.
Apex Mining’s subsidiary, Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI) milled a total of 34,221 tonnes in the first quarter, a 32% jump from 25,887 tonnes in the same period last year.
According to the Mine Reserves and Resource Certifications of 2021, the Maco Mine has enough reserves and resources to achieve 3,000 tonnes a day until 2032.
“The exploration program for MPSA 225 continues to this day and once the updated third- party competent report on the results of exploration is completed, we will disclose relevant updates,” Apex Mining president and CEO Luis Sarmiento said in a statement.
“The acquisition of the Asia-Alliance Mining Resources Corp. gives us future gold resources as the extensions of existing mining veins spill over to the adjacent tenement. These give our exploration team new ground to drill and validate,” he added.
