Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV,FNV.TO) Wednesday reported lower profit for the first quarter, impacted by higher operating expenses, in spite of rise in revenue.
For the quarter, the company posted net income of $35.4 million, down from $46.8 million last year. On a per share basis, earnings totaled $0.24, compared with $0.33 a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the firm posted earnings per share of $0.28 for the period. An analyst polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings per share of $0.28 for the quarter. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Revenue for the quarter climbed to $108.8 million from $105 million last year. Analysts were looking for revenue of $102.30 million for the period. The firm attributed the rise to higher revenue from gold, oil and other mineral assets.
Gold Equivalent Ounces earned by Franco-Nevada from its royalty and stream mineral interests was 58,289 GEOs in the quarter, compared with 55,466 GEOs in the prior year, an increase of 5.1 percent. In addition, the oil & gas assets generated $13.9 million in revenues during the quarter compared with $10.5 million a year ago.
Operating expenses for the three months, however, were $55.5 million, up from $51.3 million last year.
Looking forward, for the full year, the company expects to receive a total of 215 thousand to 235 thousand GEOs from its mineral assets and $55 million to $65 million in revenue from its oil & gas assets.
The firm further declared a monthly dividend of C$0.06 per share for each of July, August and September. The July dividend will be paid on July 25 to shareholders of record on July 11, the August dividend will be paid on August 29, to shareholders of record on August 15, and the September dividend will be paid on September 26, to shareholders of record on September 12.
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