Kinross Gold will be paying its first dividend in seven years

The Canadian mining company Kinross Gold Corp. increases its production and pays the first dividend in seven years after the Gold Price climbed to a record level. The Toronto-based company will give shareholders 3 cents per common share and resume quarterly dividends of the same amount, bringing the total payout to 12 cents per year, according to a statement Thursday. Production is expected to increase by 20% by 2023. This move comes after investors flock to choose the yellow metal as a safe haven as the pandemic threatens to slow global economic growth. Spot gold rose to a record $ 2,075.47 an ounce in August, and while prices have declined since then, prices are still up 28% this year, making the metal the second best performer on the Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 commodities. "It is expected that our growing manufacturing profile coupled with our declining cost structure will result in strong and growing free cash flow," said Chief Executive Officer J. Paul Rollinson in the statement. "In view of our attractive project pipeline and promising exploration results, we are also examining further organic development options. Kinross, one of the top 10 gold producers in the world, said it will pay the dividend on October 22nd to the holders of its shares, which had closed 14 days earlier. The last time the company paid a quarterly dividend was in March 2013, paying 8 cents per share. "The update rewards shareholders with significant and sustained returns and demonstrates management's ability to balance a disciplined and conservative approach with reinvestment in value-adding projects," Bank of Montreal analyst Jackie Przybylowski said in a note. She upgraded Kinross to outperform the market. Stocks, which nearly doubled through Thursday in New York this year, rose 4.1% from 9:06 a.m. before regular trading began. The company also plans to increase production to 2.9 million ounces of gold equivalent over the next three years by extending the life of the mines and completing projects already carried out under the previous three-year investment plan. The company is anticipating a gold price of $ 1,200 an ounce in its mining plans. According to the statement, production will increase while costs will decrease. Capital expenditures are projected to be around $ 900 million for the next year, down by $ 100 million annually through 2023. Kinross, which withdrew its forecast in April, said it was on track to meet its 2020 targets for production, sales cost per ounce sold, total cost per ounce sold, and capital expenditures announced in February.