Apex Mining turns around with P71-M net profit in 2015

Apex Mining Co. Inc. reported a turnaround in 2015, chalking up P71 million in consolidated net income compared to a net loss of P389.9 million in 2014.

The company said in a statement that last year, revenue surged 40 percent to P2.4 billion despite lower average metal prices. Gold prices averaged 8-percent lower at $1,158 an ounce in 2015 while silver averaged 16-percent lower at $16 an ounce.

Apex said the volume of ores milled in 2015 swelled by 35 percent. At the same time, the gold ore grade was 16-percent higher.

The company’s Maco mine in Compostela Valley churned out a record 43,048 ounces of gold and 224,479 ounces of silver, respectively, showing an increase of 49 percent and 41 percent.

“We are indeed fortunate that even with all of the issues that confronted the company during the year, it managed to come out with net earnings to break the chain of net losses in previous years,” Apex president and chief executive Walter W. Brown said.

Apex’s consolidated accounts included those of Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary acquired in October 2014 and which has a processing plant in Camarines Norte through Paracale Gold Ltd. The subsidiary has other mining interests in Mongolia, Burma (Myanmar), Sierra Leone and Uganda. It also owns a 30-percent participating interest in Service Contract (SC) 72 for natural gas in the Sampaguita gas field in offshore northwest of Palawan in the West Philippine Sea.

The accounts of Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI), a 98-percent-owned subsidiary acquired in June 2015, are also included in the consolidation.

ISRI has mining claims in both Itogon and Suyoc, Benguet, with existing mill and production facilities in Sangilo.

Apex said it expected that, by the fourth quarter of 2016, the ball mill of the Sangilo mine would have been restarted following years of inactivity since 1996. The objective is to declare regular operation of Sangilo by 2017.