Royal Canadian Mint Reports Profits and Performance for 2019

Canada NewsWire

OTTAWA, May 7, 2020

OTTAWA, May 7, 2020 /CNW/ - The Royal Canadian Mint (the "Mint") is pleased to announce its financial results for 2019 that provide insight into our activities, the markets influencing our businesses and our expectations for the next 12 months.

"In 2019, employees of the Royal Canadian Mint demonstrated their ability to innovate and deliver great products while focusing on our customers," said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "Their hard work contributed to the Mint delivering a $40 million dividend to the Government of Canada." 

"The Mint has responded to this unprecedented situation with COVID-19 in a proactive way that prioritizes the health and safety of our employees. We have adapted our production to be able to continue delivering critical services in support of essential sectors of the Canadian economy, while adhering to strict new protocols to ensure our work environment is a safe one," said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.

The financial results should be read in conjunction with the Mint's annual report available at www.mint.ca. All monetary amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Financial and Operational Highlights

• Consolidated profit before income tax and other items exceeded the Mint's financial target in its Corporate Plan, but decreased 8% to $42.3 million for the year (2018 – $46.0 million).
• Consolidated profit for the period remained consistent year over year at $35 million.
• Consolidated revenue increased to $1,453.4 million in 2019 (2018 - $1,420.6 million) as the Mint was able to capitalize on the higher demand for silver bullion products in certain regions outside of North America, particularly in the second half of 2019.
• Silver bullion volumes were 22.8 million ounces (2018 – 18.4 million ounces), while gold bullion volumes were 483.0 thousand ounces (2018 – 523.0 thousand ounces).
• Sales of numismatic products were consistent year to year at $117 million as revenue from gold products increased, while a more streamlined product offering reduced the revenue from silver and other product sales.
• Revenue from the Foreign Circulation business decreased 31% to $65.4 million (2018 - $94.9 million), a more normal level as compared to the exceptional year in 2018, with production and/or shipments returning to normal levels at 1,308 million foreign coins and blanks compared to 1,816 million coins and blanks in 2018.
• The Mint continues to actively manage Canadian circulation coin inventory levels to ensure coinage demand is met throughout the year, and, in 2019, produced 385 million coins (2018 – 369 million) to replenish inventories held on behalf of the Department of Finance.
• Operating expenses, overall, increased 1% year over year to $94.5 million (2018 – $93.8 million) as the Mint continued to focus on cost optimization through the implementation of its updated numismatics strategy and at the same time increased its investment in employees to support the ongoing diligence with respect to the Mint's physical and cyber-security posture in 2019.
• Cash and cash equivalents remained consistent year over year at $66 million after the Mint declared and paid a $40 million dividend to its Shareholder, the Government of Canada, in 2019, $30 million more than the dividend paid in 2018. Cash and cash equivalents remain at the level required to support the Mint's ongoing operations.

To read more of the Mint's annual report for 2019, please visit www.mint.ca.

About the Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high-quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.  Follow the Mint on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Earnings Release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's expectations regarding the Mint's objectives, plans, strategies, future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities.  Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "plans", "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "estimates", "intends", and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not facts, but only estimates regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities (assumptions).
While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on available information, they may prove to be incorrect. These estimates of future results are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what the Mint expects. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risks to Performance section of the Narrative Discussion, as well as in Note 10 – Financial Instruments and Financial Risk Management to our Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. The forward-looking statements included in this Earnings Release are made only as of May 6, 2020, and the Mint does not undertake to publicly update these statements to reflect new information, future events or changes in circumstances or for any other reason after this date.

SOURCE Royal Canadian Mint