Royal Canadian Mint proud to report profits and performance for Q2 2018

OTTAWA, Aug. 29, 2018 /CNW/ - The Royal Canadian Mint (the "Mint" or the "Company") is pleased to release its financial results for the 13 and 26 weeks ended June 30, 2018, which provide insight into our activities, the markets influencing our businesses and our expectations for the year ahead.

"By capitalizing on opportunities in areas of our business such as Foreign Circulation and Bullion services, as well as soundly managing our costs, the Mint continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver solid profits even as other businesses face challenging market conditions," said Jennifer Camelon, Interim President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "These results indicate that the Mint is managed well, and with a new Memorandum of Understanding in place for producing Canada's circulation coins, we are even better positioned to keep delivering on our strategy."

The financial results are for the 13 and 26 weeks ended June 30, 2018 and July 1, 2017, and should be read in conjunction with the Company's Quarterly Report available at www.mint.ca.  All monetary amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Q2 2018 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Consolidated profit before income tax and other items was $6.4 million for the quarter (2017 – $8.9 million) and the profit margin remained constant at 2% quarter over quarter
• Consolidated profit for the period was $5.9 million for the quarter (2017 –  $5.3 million).
• Consolidated revenue declined to $260.7 million in the second quarter of 2018 (2017 - $401.6 million) as lower overall bullion global market demand continues to lead to lower volumes.
• Gold bullion volumes were 99 thousand ounces (2017 – 124 thousand) while silver bullion volumes were 3.3 million ounces (2017 – 4.5 million).
• Bullion ancillary services revenue increased 61% quarter over quarter as these services continue to expand.  The increase in Bullion ancillary services has allowed us to effectively manage the overall costs of the Bullion business during the current market conditions.
• Shipment of 257 million foreign coins and blanks in the quarter (2017 – 294 million) combined with higher revenue per coin resulted in an increase in revenue from the Foreign Circulation business as compared to the second quarter of 2017.
• As expected, sales of numismatic products continued to be slower in the second quarter of 2018 having decreased to $28.8 million (2017 - $45.3 million) after a strong year in 2017 driven by Canada 150 product sales.
• Canadian circulation coin production was 202 million pieces in the quarter (2017 – 258 million pieces).  In June 2018, the Mint signed a new memorandum of understanding with the Department of Finance which is effective as of January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021.
• Operating expenses decreased 20% quarter over quarter to $23.0 million (2017 - $28.6 million) as the Mint continues to carefully manage expenses.

To read more of the Mint's Second Quarter Report for 2018, please visit www.mint.ca.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. An ISO 9001 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.  

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Earnings Release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's expectations regarding the Mint's objectives, plans, strategies, future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities.  Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "plans", "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "estimates", "intends", and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not facts, but only estimates regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities (assumptions). While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on available information, they may prove to be incorrect. These estimates of future results are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what the Mint expects. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risks to Performance section of the Narrative Discussion as well as in Note 9 – Financial Instruments and Financial Risk Management to our Unuaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The forward-looking statements included in this Earnings Release are made only as of August 24, 2018, and the Mint does not undertake to publicly update these statements to reflect new information, future events or changes in circumstances or for any other reason after this date.

SOURCE Royal Canadian Mint