QUÉBEC CITY, Québec, April 28, 2023 — Robex Resources Inc. (“Robex”, the “Group” or the “Company”) (TSXV: RBX) today is pleased to publish its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022.
All amounts and financial data are in Canadian dollars (CAD).
Fiscal Year 2022 Highlights
| 2022 | 2021 | Variation | |
| Gold ounces produced | 46,651 | 46,554 | 0.2% |
| Gold ounces sold | 48,029 | 46,002 | 4.4% |
| $ | $ | ||
| Revenue – Gold sales | 112,236,766 | 103,892,699 | 8.0% |
| RESULTS OF MINING OPERATION | 62,509,730 | 54,600,802 | 14.5% |
| OPERATING INCOME | 41,647,586 | 37,210,163 | 11.9% |
| NET INCOME | 32,813,517 | 16,120,632 | 103.5% |
| ATTRIBUTABLE TO EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS | |||
| Net income | 30,777,719 | 15,892,676 | 93.7% |
| Basic earnings per share | 0.048 | 0.026 | 82.7% |
| Diluted earnings per share | 0.048 | 0.026 | 83.1% |
| Adjusted net income(1) | 32,066,948 | 29,667,559 | 8.1% |
| Adjusted net income per share(1) | 0.050 | 0.049 | 2.0% |
| CASH FLOW | |||
| Adjusted operating cash flows(1) | 51,361,572 | 33,768,201 | 52.1% |
| Adjusted operating cash flows per share(1) | 0.081 | 0.056 | 43.5% |
| TOTAL ASSET | 251,761,308 | 142,667,718 | 76.5% |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | 55,206,985 | 44,020,453 | 25.4% |
| NET DEBT(1) | 21,673,489 | (9,281,238) | -333.5% |
| STATISTICS | |||
| Average realized selling price (per ounce sold)(1) | 2,337 | 2,258 | 3.5% |
| All-in sustaining cost (per ounce sold)(1) | 1,457 | 1,501 | -3.0% |
| Adjusted all-in sustaining cost (per ounce sold) (1) | 955 | 956 | -0.1% |
(1) Non-IFRS financial measure, non-IFRS ratio, or supplementary financial measure. See the “Non-IFRS Measures and Other Financial Measures” section of this press release for more information on these measures and their reconcilement with the most directly comparable IFRS measure, where applicable.
| Fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 | |||||
| $ | |||||
| Mining operations (gold) | Mining operations – Guinea | Mining operations – Mali | Corporate management | Total | |
| MINING OPERATIONS | |||||
| Revenue – gold sales | 112,236,766 | –– | –– | –– | 112,236,766 |
| Mining operation expenses | (34,774,721) | –– | –– | –– | (34,774,721) |
| Mining royalties | (3,477,139) | –– | –– | –– | (3,477,139) |
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets | (11,475,176) | –– | –– | –– | (11,475,176) |
| RESULTS OF MINING OPERATION | 62,509,730 | –– | –– | –– | 62,509,730 |
| OTHER EXPENSES | |||||
| Administrative expenses | (11,660,083) | (780,764) | (49,886) | (6,162,438) | (18,653,171) |
| Exploration and evaluation expenses | (183,994) | –– | –– | –– | (183,994) |
| Equity-based compensation expenses | –– | –– | –– | (863,180) | (863,180) |
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets | –– | (36,987) | –– | (65,962) | (102,949) |
| Asset retirement loss | (1,129,235) | –– | –– | (39,588) | (1,168,823) |
| Other income | 81,476 | 28,497 | –– | –– | 109,973 |
| OPERATING INCOME | 49,617,894 | (789,254) | (49,886) | (7,131,168) | 41,647,586 |
| FINANCIAL EXPENSES | |||||
| Financial expenses | (1,652,352) | (7,796) | (4,542) | (40,207) | (1,704,897) |
| Foreign exchange gains (losses) | 112,916 | (15,524) | (1,561) | 646,943 | 742,774 |
| INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX EXPENSE | 48,078,458 | (812,574) | (55,989) | (6,524,432} | 40,685,463 |
| Income tax expense | (7,130,484) | –– | –– | (741,462) | (7,871,946) |
| NET INCOME | 40,947,974 | (812,574) | (55,989) | (7,265,894} | 32,813,517 |
A table accompanying this press release is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/61a7bfce-5830-4897-ba17-399bb23e5754.
Summary of the (Gold) Mining Operating Results for Fiscal Year 2022
Operations:
For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2022, production reached 46,651 ounces, stable (+0.2%) as opposed to the comparable period in 2021. The year 2022 was more difficult than the previous years, resulting in production slightly below management’s estimate of 50,000 ounces. The causes leading to the plant’s limited production include exceptional rainfall as well as the December 15, 2022 riots (the “December 2022 Incidents”), in which artisanal miners broke into the perimeter of the operations after an altercation with a gendarme left one miner dead and another injured. These events led to a temporary suspension of production that lasted around 72 hours, and the deterioration of the plant’s performance following the destruction of the assay laboratory. The commissioning of the new trommel and the higher feed content (0.81g/t compared to 0.79g/t for the same period in 2021) did not fully compensate for the year’s difficulties.
Exploration:
In order to develop its mining properties, the Company started exploration work (geochemistry, geophysics reinterpretation, surface sampling) on the Senegalese-Malian shear zone (Sanoula and Diagounté) and on the licenses neighbouring Nampala (Mininko and Gladié). Reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling started at the beginning of 2022, the objective being to increase resources. A full redesign of the Company’s exploration process is currently underway with the team of geologists from the Sycamore Group.
Finance:
The 2022 operating income reached $41,647,586, up from $37,210,163 in 2021, due to the combined effects of the 4.4% rise in the quantity of gold sold (48,029 ounces versus 46,002 in 2021) and the climbing price of gold, which compensated for higher energy costs. The net earnings attributable to common shareholders for 2022 stood at $30,777,719, a net increase compared to $15,892,676 in 2021, which included an exceptional $14,276,807 tax reserve that was recorded following receipt of the draft notice of assessment for fiscal years 2016 to 2018.
Management’s outlook for fiscal year 2023
In 2022, the strategic acquisition of Sycamore Capital CY Limited, Sycamore Mining Limited, Sycamore Mine Guinée SAU and Sycamore Trading Limited (the “Sycamore Group”), a portfolio of four operating licenses (the “Kiniero Project” or “Kiniero”) in the Republic of Guinea, made Robex’s ambition of becoming a mid-tier gold producer in West Africa a reality. The year 2023 should be devoted to accelerating construction of the Kiniero mine and securing its funding. The Nampala mining operations, which began in 2017, remain at the heart of Robex’s strategy, which stands to benefit from the experience of the team of geologists that RBX Technical Services Ltd. inherited from the Sycamore Group. Management continues to implement a sustainable and inclusive growth strategy that is supported by a prudent and balanced financial approach. The Group’s objectives for fiscal year 2023 are as follows:
- Continued construction of Kiniero: After conducting a pre-feasibility study in accordance with Regulation 43-101 respecting standards of disclosure for mineral projects (“Regulation 43-101”) in the third quarter of 2022, the teams of geologists are now working on a feasibility study. The work carried out, which includes definition drillings and engineering, is still underway and should lead to the publication of the feasibility study with a level of certainty that should help speed up the project’s construction and finalize its funding.
- Kiniero funding project: In early 2023, the Company announced the signature of a mandate letter which appoints Taurus Mining Finance Fund No.2 L.P. as exclusive arranger for a total funding package of US$ 115 million for the development of the Kiniero Gold Project in Guinea. The funding package is comprised of the following: (i) a US$ 35 million bridge loan facility (the “Bridge Loan”); (ii) up to US$ 100 million project finance facility to be used to pay the Bridge Loan and fund capital development and working capital costs, and (iii) a US$ 15 million cost overrun facility to cover unforeseen expenditures above contingencies built-in the current design. On April 20, 2023, the Company announced that all conditions precedent to the closing of the Bridge Loan have been met or waived and a first drawdown request has been completed.
- Nampala performance improvement: The optimization of the mining plan for the Kampala mine is now continuous. The objective is to maximize the cash flow to support the Group’s growth.
- Exploration in Mali and Guinea: Exploration is back at the core of the Group’s strategy for identifying new targets and new treatable reserves in the Nampala plant and the future Kiniero plant.
- Capital market: Robex is striving to improve its communications with investors and financial intermediaries so as to support the stock’s appreciation and increase its short-term liquidity.
These outlooks constitute forward-looking information, and results may vary significantly. The outlooks for Robex also constitute “financial outlooks” within the meaning of the applicable securities legislation and are presented for the purposes of assisting readers in understanding the Company’s financial performance and assessing the progress made in attaining Management’s objectives, and readers are advised that these outlooks may not be appropriate for other purposes. Please see the “Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements” section in this press release for additional information on factors that could lead to financial performances that differ materially from the financial outlooks provided above.
Amended and restated stock option plan
The Company is pleased to announce that its board of directors has adopted an amended and restated stock option plan, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”). The amendments have the effect of increasing the total number of shares that may be issued under the plan and making administrative changes to reflect amendments to the TSXV’s Policy 4.4 Security Based Compensation. The total number of common shares that are issuable under the amended and restated stock option plan may not exceed 84,405,440, which represents approximately 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company.
Proposed share consolidation on a 10 for 1 basis
The Company is pleased to announce that, today, its board of directors has also approved the proposed share consolidation (or reverse split) on a 10 to 1 basis (the “Consolidation”), subject to the approval of the Company’s shareholders at the upcoming annual and special meeting that will be held on June 29, 2023 (the “Meeting”) and compliance with the TSXV requirements. Indeed, the Company’s board of directors believes such a Consolidation would be desirable in order to facilitate raising additional capital in the future. Given that the Company is considering implementing the Consolidation at a future date (to be determined by the board at its entire discretion), it is in the best interests of the Company to obtain approval for the Consolidation at the Meeting. Shareholders will therefore be asked to consider and, if deemed advisable, approve, a special resolution (the “Share Consolidation Resolution”) authorizing the Company to proceed with the Consolidation, subject to the approval of the TSXV. In order to be adopted, the Share Consolidation Resolution must be approved by at least twothirds of the votes cast by the holders of the common shares either present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting. As at the date hereof, the Company has 844,054,403 common shares issued and outstanding. If the Consolidation were to be implemented as at the date hereof, the Company would have approximately 84,405,440 common shares outstanding following completion of the Consolidation. The Company is seeking shareholder approval of the Consolidation in order to provide the board with the flexibility it needs to implement the Consolidation at a later date. Neither the Company’s name nor its articles of incorporation will be changed as a result of the Consolidation.
Notwithstanding the above, there can be no assurance that the board will decide to implement the consolidation.
FOURTH QUARTER 2022 TELEPHONE CONFERENCE AND WEBCAST
Robex will present its results for the fourth quarter and for fiscal year 2022 during a live webcast organized by Renmark Financial on May 2, 2023 at 9:00 a.m., EDT.
Robex invites all stakeholders, investors and other individual subscribers to register and attend this event live. Investors interested in participating in this event will need to register using the link provided below. Please note that registration for the live event may be limited, but access to the replay after the event will be on the website of the Company’s investor.
Register here: https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/fourthquarter-and-full-year-2022-results-virtual-presentation-tsx-v-rbx-2023-05-02-090000. For a seamless connection, please access this link using the latest version of Google Chrome.
DETAILED INFORMATION
For a more detailed discussion of the Company’s financial results, readers are strongly advised to consult Robex’s MD&A and consolidated financial statements, which are available on the Company’s website in the Investors section at robexgold.com.
The Company’s consolidated financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 have been filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Shareholders of the Company can also obtain a paper copy of the consolidated financial statements and MD&A, free of charge, by contacting the Investor Relations Department (investor@robexgold.com).
NON-IFRS MEASURES AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES
The Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (the “IFRS”). However, the Company also presents non-IFRS financial measures, non-IFRS ratios and supplementary financial measures for which no definition exists in the IFRS: adjusted net income attributable to equity shareholders, net debt and adjusted operating cash flows (non-IFRS financial measures), adjusted net income attributable to equity shareholders per share and adjusted operating cash flows per share (non-IFRS financial ratios), average realized selling price (per gold ounce sold), all-in sustaining cost (per gold ounce sold) and adjusted all-in sustaining cost (per gold ounce sold) (supplementary financial measures). The Company presents these measures as they can provide useful information to help investors better evaluate the Company’s performance and ability to generate cash flow from its operations. Since the non‐IFRS measures presented in this press release do not have any standardized definition prescribed by IFRS, they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Accordingly, they are intended to provide additional information to investors and other stakeholders and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures and ratios, supplementary financial measures and non-financial information are explained in greater detail below and in the “Non-IFRS Measures and Other Financial Measures” section of Robex’s 2022 MD&A (which is incorporated herein by reference) filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com as well as on Robex’s website (www.robexgold.com). The reconciliations and calculations between the non-IFRS financial measures and the most comparable IFRS measures are presented below in the “Reconciliations and Calculations” section of this press release.
RECONCILIATIONS AND CALCULATIONS
Calculation of the adjusted net income attributable to equity shareholders and adjusted net income attributable to equity shareholders per share
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| (in dollars) | ||
| Net and diluted earnings attributable to common shareholders | 30,777,719 | 15,892,676 |
| Equity-based compensation expense | 863,180 | –– |
| Foreign exchange gain | (742,774) | (507,875) |
| Asset retirement loss | 1,168,823 | 5,951 |
| Provision for tax adjustment for prior years | –– | 14,276,807 |
| Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders | 32,066,948 | 29,667,559 |
| Basic weighted average number of shares outstanding | 635,778,939 | 599,737,408 |
| Adjusted basic earnings per share (in dollars) | 0.050 | 0.049 |
Calculation of the adjusted operating cash flows and adjusted operating cash flows per share
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| (in dollars) | ||
| Operating cash flows | 29,817,147 | 43,923,248 |
| Net change in non-cash working capital items | 21,544,425 | (10,155,047) |
| Adjusted operating cash flows | 51,361,572 | 33,768,201 |
| Basic weighted average number of shares outstanding | 635,778,939 | 599,737,408 |
| Adjusted operating cash flows per share (in dollars) | 0.081 | 0.056 |
Calculation of the net debt flow
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| $ | $ | |
| Lines of credit and overdraft | 11,370,939 | 6,659,600 |
| Long-term debt | 1,395,215 | 4,694,606 |
| Lease obligations | 12,518,742 | 86,363 |
| Less: Cash | (3,611,406) | (20,721,807) |
| NET DEBT | 21,673,489 | (9,281,238) |
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| $ | $ | |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | 55,206,985 | 44,020,453 |
| Less: | ||
| Accounts payable | (17,957,004) | (24,325,955) |
| Environmental liabilities | (424,138) | (378,385) |
| Deferred income tax | (10,106,230) | (7,875,544) |
| Other long-term liabilities | (1,434,717) | –– |
| 25,284,896 | 11,440,569 | |
| CURRENT ASSETS | 32,095,698 | 41,245,118 |
| Less: | ||
| Stocks | (17,648,967) | (13,638,323) |
| Accounts receivable | (8,867,852) | (4,222,161) |
| Prepaid expenses | (805,914) | (742,304) |
| Deposits paid | (1,161,559) | (1,920,523) |
| 3,611,406 | 20,721,807 | |
| NET DEBT | 21,673,490 | (9,281,238) |
Caution concerning limitations of summary earnings press release
This summary earnings press release contains limited information meant to assist the reader in assessing Robex’s performance, but it is not a suitable source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with Robex and is not in any way a substitute for the Company’s financial statements, notes to the financial statements, and MD&A.
About Robex Resources Inc.
Robex is a multi-jurisdictional West African gold production and development company with nearterm exploration potential. The Company is dedicated to safe, diverse and responsible operations in the countries in which it operates with a goal to foster sustainable growth. The Company has been operating the Nampala mine in Mali since 2017 and is advancing the Kiniero Gold Project in Guinea.
Robex is supported by two strategic shareholders and has the ambition to become one of the most important mid-tier gold producers in West Africa.
