Topic: Growth Stocks

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.49 – Toronto symbol ARG

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.49 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 172.3 million; Market cap: $84.4 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest copper mine. This contract runs at least through 2037. Amerigo also has an agreement to process material from the nearby Cauquenes tailings pond.

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

A landslide in one of Amerigo’s production areas has hurt its copper and molybdenum production. In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, copper production fell 13.1%, to 11.04 million pounds from 12.70 million a year earlier. Molybdenum output declined 40.0%, to 193,138 pounds from 321,788.

However, these operations are now recovering, and production growth is returning to normal.

Electricity is a big expense for Amerigo, but it has a new power contract that started on January 1, 2013, at much lower rates than it was paying before. As a result, the company will save more than $20 million annually over the next five years. That should continue to significantly improve its cash flow.

The company was paying a semi-annual dividend of $0.02 a share. However, it is currently skipping dividend payments because of uncertain copper prices and lower production forecasts for this year.

The shares have moved up from a low of $0.31 in early December 2012 along with improving copper prices. The outlook for copper prices, and Amerigo’s stock, remain positive.

Amerigo is still a buy for aggressive investors.

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