Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call November 6, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Siren Fisekci - VP, IR
Michael Steinmann - President and CEO
Steve Busby - COO

Conference Call Participants

Ovais Habib - Scotiabank
Don DeMarco - National Bank Financial

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Pan American Silver Third Quarter 2024 Unaudited Results Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Siren Fisekci, VP, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Siren Fisekci

Thank you for joining us today for Pan American Silver's Q3 2024 conference call. This call includes forward-looking statements and information and makes reference to non-GAAP measures. Please see the cautionary statements in our MD&A news release and presentation slides for our Q3 2024 unaudited results, all of which are available on our website.

I'll now turn the call over to Michael Steinmann, Pan American's President and CEO.

Michael Steinmann

Thanks, Siren, and thank you, everyone, for joining today's call. Pan American delivered strong financial performance in Q3. Revenue was a record $716.1 million, which, due to timing of sales, excluded the sale of finished goods and concentrated inventories with a value of approximately $30 million. Cash flow from operations before working capital changes was a record $235.8 million. Free cash flow also reached a record of $151.5 million.

At the end of Q3, cash and short-term investments of $469.9 million had increased by $101.3 million compared to Q2 2024. Net debt decreased to $376.2 million. These record financial results further strengthened the balance sheet. At the end of Q3, we had $1.2 billion of available liquidity to invest in future growth and provide returns to shareholders.

Yesterday, we announced a $0.10 per share dividend with respect to Q3. Year-to-date dividend payments totaled $109.1 million. In addition, we also repurchased and canceled shares for $24.3 million under our share buyback plan. Net earnings in Q3 were $57.1 million or $0.16 per share. This includes a one-time tax expense for a settlement with the Mexican tax authorities and an amendment of certain Argentine income tax filings, both of which relate to prior year's tax filings. Q3 tax expense was partially offset by reversal of the inflation-driven tax expense in Argentina that we recorded in the first half of 2024.