Topic: Growth Stocks

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.34 – Toronto symbol ARG

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.34 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 173.7 million; Market cap: $59.0 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine. This rock comes from the mine’s current production and tailings from the nearby Colihues deposit. This contract runs at least through 2037.

Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Amerigo’s copper production fell 7.4%, to 11.35 million pounds from 12.25 million a year earlier. Molybdenum output declined 11.8%, to 160,107 pounds from 181,464.

Despite the lower production and a decline in copper prices, cash flow jumped 94.3%, to $5.4 million, or $0.031 a share, from $2.8 million, or $0.016 (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The company cut the cost of producing each pound of copper.

Amerigo is moving ahead with plans to build a plant to process material from the Cauquenes tailings deposit, located near its current operations. This is a big growth project: the company expects it to help double its production, to 90 million pounds, in 2016.

The Cauquenes expansion will cost $140 million. However, Amerigo has used its cash flow to pay off all of its debt over the last few years, and it holds cash of $18.3 million. This gives it the flexibility to borrow the money it needs for Cauquenes from Chilean banks.

Copper prices have dropped to $2.63 U.S. a pound from around $3.25 in mid-2014, but the metal should rebound with the global economy.

Amerigo is still a buy for aggressive investors.

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