Agnico CEO Ammar Al-Joundi. Credit: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. chief executive officer Ammar Al-Joundi said the gold producer is “very well-positioned” to pursue acquisitions should opportunities emerge, signaling a renewed openness to deal-making after years focused on growing output from existing mines.
“We are willing to move — and we have moved — when we see an opportunity on the M&A side that actually creates value per share,” he said during an earnings call on Friday, adding that the company has a “very good understanding of the various assets out there.”
His comments suggests a more proactive approach to doing deals from a CEO who has traditionally been reserved on transactions.
Back in September, Al-Joundi told Bloomberg that his company was focused on internal growth, and warned about the pursuit of “irresponsible M&A” just because of high gold prices. The precious metal has been on a record-breaking run, helping to boost miners’ coffers and drive profit margins to all-time highs.
Speaking to investors and analysts on Friday’s call, Al-Joundi said assets with strong exploration potential would offer the most high value opportunities. He added, in response to a separate question, that the company would also consider divesting non-core holdings.
“What would really interest us — and what has really driven us for external M&A — has really been exploration upside,” he said. “If it makes sense for someone else to own one of those assets and they view that they can pay our owners more money than we see in it, we would always be open to that.”
Agnico Eagle’s mines have already helped the company grow. Its annual production last year has propelled the Toronto-based miner past Barrick Mining Corp. to claim the No. 2 rank for the world’s gold producers.
(By Sybilla Gross)