Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 14, 2024 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Lisa Wilkinson - VP, IR and Corporate Communications
Paul Tomory - President and CEO
Paul Chawrun - COO
Ryan Snyder - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Raj Ray - BMO
Mike Parkin - National Bank
Anita Soni - CIBC

Operator

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Centerra Gold First Quarter 2024 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The conference is being recorded. Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Wilkinson, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications with Centerra Gold. Please go ahead.

Lisa Wilkinson

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Centerra Gold's first quarter 2024 results conference call. Joining me on the call today are Paul Tomory, President and Chief Executive Officer; Paul Chawrun, Chief Operating Officer; and Ryan Snyder, Chief Financial Officer.

Our release this morning details our first quarter 2024 results. It should be read in conjunction with our MD&A and financial statements, both of which can be found on SEDAR, EDGAR and on our website. All figures are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. Presentation slides accompanying this webcast are available on Centerra's website.

Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, I would like to caution everyone that certain statements made today may be forward-looking and are subject to risks, which may cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied. Please refer to the cautionary statements included in the presentation as well as the risk factors set out in our annual information form. Certain measures we will discuss are non-GAAP measures. Please refer to the description of non-GAAP measures in our news release and MD&A issued this morning.

I will now turn the call over to Paul Tomory.

Paul Tomory

Thank you, Lisa, and good morning, everyone.

We delivered another strong quarter of operating performance, and we're on track to deliver our full year guidance. We continue to generate significant free cash flow, and our cash balance increased by $35 million to end of quarter at $648 million.

We remain on track to meet our guidance in 2024 and Mount Milligan, we continue to advance the site-wide optimization program, implementing tangible improvements in all areas of our operations. At Öksüt, as previously disclosed, we expect to have elevated production in the first half of the year, while Chawrun will speak to our operations in more detail later in the call.