Newmont sharpens its focus

Article Excerpt

NEWMONT CORP. $42 is a buy for long-term growth and as a hedge against inflation. The company (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.15 billion; Market cap: $48.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) acquired rival Newcrest Mining Ltd. In November 2023. Newcrest shareholders received 0.40 of a Newmont common share. That gave them roughly 31% of the combined company. In the 2024 first quarter, Newmont eliminated overlapping operations to cut its annual operating costs by $105 million. It now expects those annual savings to rise to $500 million by the end of 2025. Newmont also plans to sell six of its less-important mines. In all, these sales should result in total proceeds of $2 billion. It plans to apply the proceeds to its long-term debt of $8.93 billion, which is equal to 18% of its market cap. Thanks to rising gold prices and production, Newmont’s earnings will probably rise over 50% in 2024 to…