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Mining company Fresnillo saw profit plunged 63% in 2019 as production fell short of its guidance amid lower output at its mines in Mexico.
For 2019, pre-tax profit fell 63% to $178.8m and revenue grew 0.8% to $2.2bn on-year.
Full year silver production of 54.6m ounces was down 11.6% on-year, driven by the lower ore grades at Saucito, Fresnillo and San Julián mines,' the company said.
Gold production fell 5.1% to 875.9k oz, mainly driven by the anticipated lower volume of ore processed at its Noche Buena mine, which was exacerbated by lower ore grades at San Julián.
The company said 2019 was a more challenging year as expected, which was reflected in its financial performance, with gross profit and earnings (EBITDA) decreasing by 40.9% and 26.3% respectively.
Looking ahead, Fresnillo expected to produce in the range of 51-to-56m oz of silver and 815-to-900k oz of gold in 2020.
'The 2019 capex projects will continue in 2020 and will account for the majority of our investment in the year ahead, together with an increase in capex as the construction of Juanicipio progresses,' the company said.
'As previously guided, we expect silver production to be in line with 2019, before returning to growth in 2021, driven by operational improvements at the Fresnillo mine, the Pyrites plant, Juanicipio and San Julián. Gold is expected to decline driven by the planned Noche Buena closure and lower production from Herradura,' it added. At 9:31am: (LON:FRES) Fresnillo PLC share price was -24.6p at 595.4p