Silvercorp Metals Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Silvercorp reported record quarterly revenue of CAD 147 million, with Q4 revenue up 96% year over year, driven largely by a sharp rise in realized silver prices.
  • Positive Sentiment: Adjusted net income and cash generation surged in Q4, with adjusted net income of CAD 59.3 million and quarterly operating cash flow of CAD 87 million, both company records.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company ended fiscal 2026 with a strong balance sheet, including CAD 422 million in cash and additional undrawn RMB 220 million term loan facilities, supporting its growth plans.
  • Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted continued progress at Ying and El Domo, including permit expansions at Ying, construction of a new mill, and steady advancement at the Ecuador project despite weather-related challenges.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Silvercorp also outlined a broader growth and diversification strategy, including the Kyrgyzstan gold acquisition, ongoing work at Tulkubash, and an application to list shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange later this year.
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Earnings Conference Call
Silvercorp Metals Q4 2026
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Good afternoon. My name is John, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Silvercorp fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 financial results conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then the number two. Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lon Shaver, President of Silvercorp. Please go ahead.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Thank you, John. On behalf of Silvercorp, I'd like to welcome everyone to this call to discuss our fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 financial results, which we released on Tuesday. Copy of the news release, the MD&A, and our financial statements are available on our website and SEDAR+. Before we get going, please note that certain statements on today's call will contain forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Additionally, please review the cautionary statements in our news release, as well as the risk factors described in our most recent regulatory filings. We'll start with the financial results for the quarter. We delivered another quarter of strong performance in Q4, which was highlighted by record revenue of $147 million, up 96% from last year.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Cash flow from operating activities and free cash flow reached $90 million and $58 million, respectively, up 194% and 308% from last year. This performance was mainly driven by a 183% increase in the realized selling price of silver, which averaged just above $78 an ounce after smelter deductions. Silver accounted for 78% of our revenue in Q4. It is obviously a good time to be a silver miner, and these results show why Silvercorp remains a compelling investment. We are profitable, growing, and still undervalued. Moving down the income statement, we reported an unadjusted net income of $-700,000 for the quarter or $-0.30 per share. Sorry, $0.003 per share, which reflected a significant $60 million non-cash charge on the fair value of derivative liabilities.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

We have since removed the cash settlement option on our convertible notes, which reclassified the conversion feature from a derivative liability to equity and eliminated future fair value volatility that would flow through the income statement. This will clear up this reporting issue going forward and simplify our financial statements. Removing these non-cash and one-time items, our adjusted net income for the quarter was $59.3 million or $0.27 per share versus $14.7 million and $0.07 in the comparative quarter. As I mentioned, revenue was up 96%, while adjusted net income rose 303%, showing that we've been able to flow these higher metal prices through to the bottom line.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Adjusting our operating cash flow for a positive $3 million impact from non-cash working capital and backing out the Wheaton stream contribution that we showed in Q3, the Q4 operating cash flow of $87 million was a quarterly record. On the capital allocation front, during the quarter, we invested nearly $15 million at our Chinese operations and $13 million at the El Domo project in Ecuador. Additionally, we made a cash payment of $92 million in late January for the acquisition of the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash gold projects in Kyrgyzstan. As we embark on an aggressive growth strategy, our strong balance sheet will become increasingly important. We ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $422 million, which does not include our investments in associates in other companies, which had a total market value of $275 million on March 31st.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Additionally, to add further liquidity, after quarter end, we secured a low-cost RMB term loan facilities totaling approximately RMB 220 million, which further strengthens our financial position. To date, these remain undrawn. To quickly summarize the full year 2026 results, which just like the quarter, were record-breaking across the board. Revenue reached $438 million, up 47% from the prior year, driven by a 72% increase in the realized selling price of silver over the year. Adjusted net income for the year was $151 million or $0.69 per share versus $75 million or $0.36 per share in the prior year. Our annual cash flow from operating activities was nearly $311 million. This was up 124% from $139 million in the prior year.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Capital expenditures for the year were approximately $124 million, which is up from $87 million in the prior year. This includes $75 million for underground development equipment and facilities at our Chinese operations, as well as over $46 million for construction at the El Domo mine. Nonetheless, we generated more than $181 million in free cash flow in fiscal 2026. That's more than triple what we delivered in the prior year. Now to quickly recap our operating results. As we reported last month, in Q4, we produced approximately 1,500,000 oz of silver, nearly 2,500 oz of gold, 14,000,000 lbs of lead, and 4,000,000 lbs of zinc.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

For the full year, we produced 6,800,000 oz of silver, 8,723 oz of gold, 60,000,000 lbs of lead, and 22,000,000 lbs of zinc. Compared to last year, gold production increased 16%, while silver, lead, and zinc production were down 2%, 3%, and 7% respectively. The decrease was mainly driven by lower head grades, reflecting higher dilution associated with an increase in shrinkage mining. Consolidated mining operating income came in at $254 million in fiscal 2026, with Ying contributing $240 million of that or 95% of the total. On the cost side, Q4 production costs averaged $78 per ton at Ying, down 8% from last year.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

The improvement reflects a 43% and 2% increase in tonnes mined and milled, as continued mine mechanization and greater use of that cost-efficient shrinkage mining method boosted productivity. For the full year, production costs averaged $80 per ton, which was below our Ying's annual guidance of $87-$88 per tonne. Ying's cash cost per ounce of silver net of byproduct credits was negative $1.03 in Q4, compared to positive $3.05 in the prior year quarter. The decrease was driven by an 800,000 increase in byproduct credits. For the full year, cash costs averaged $0.01 per ounce, compared to $0.62 last year, reflecting a 10 million increase in byproduct credits. All-in sustaining production costs increased by 11% year-over-year at Ying to $134 per ton in Q4, driven mainly by higher government taxes on increased revenue, as well as higher sustaining capital spending on tunneling.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

For the full year, the all-in sustaining cost also averaged $134 per ton, down 4% year-over-year and below Ying's annual guidance of $158-$161 per ton. On a per-ounce basis, net of byproducts, Ying's all-in sustaining cost was $13.09 in Q4 and $11.49 for the full year, delivering strong margins amid higher silver prices. Turning to our growth projects. At Ying, we invested $29 million in fiscal 2026 for ramp and tunnel development and are budgeting $37 million this year to further enhance underground access and materials handling.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

This work goes hand in hand with our broader effort to expand mining capacity across all four licenses at Ying. We've now completed the permit extensions and capacity expansions for the four mining permits comprising Ying, with total approved capacity increasing to 1,320,000 tons per year. Now we're focused on completing the required production safety licenses.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

At SGX, the safety facility design has already been approved and construction is underway to support the capacity expansion. At HPG, the design has been reviewed by the Henan provincial government and is now awaiting final sign-off. At the TLP, LM, and DCG licenses, the safety facility designs have been completed and submitted for approval. At Kuanping, the satellite project north of Ying Mine construction focused on ramp development to access the ore bodies. The project, which has a license to produce up to 200,000 tons of ore per year, has delivered some development ore in Q1 of fiscal 2027, which was shipped to Ying for processing. With the capacity expansions at the existing Ying permit areas in Kuanping, we'll have total mining capacity of approximately 1,500,000 tons per year.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

In anticipation of higher mine production at Ying, we're moving ahead with the construction of a new mill, the number three mill. Design and construction began in Q4 and with a total budget of $31.6 million. It's expected to add 3,000 tons per day of milling capacity and be commissioned in Q1 fiscal 2028. Once mill number three is in operation, we plan to decommission the older mill number one, which will leave Ying with a net effect of milling capacity of approximately 6,500 tons per day, up from the current 4,000 tons per day. This will give us more capacity at the mill to process at a higher mining rate and to leave some excess capacity for future growth. We plan to release an updated mineral resource and reserve estimate, along with an updated mine plan for Ying, incorporating Kuanping shortly. Switching gears to Ecuador.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

At El Domo, construction continued to advance in Q4 despite heavy rainfall. On the infrastructure side, we awarded contracts for three sections of external power lines and three substations to qualified Ecuadorian contractors, which have since received formal approval from CNEL, the domestic power company. We also saw Klohn Crippen Berger mobilize the site to support construction quality assurance for the tailing storage facility. In parallel, we continued to strengthen on-site capacity with a regional workforce of 372 people as of March 31st. Key infrastructure milestones were also achieved, including the completion of the ore shed and continued progress on process plant earthworks and site preparation, supported by ongoing blasting and leveling activities. Importantly, we signed the definitive mining contract with CRCC 19 in February.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

The contractor mobilized to site immediately and has transitioned into active construction, including access road development to the open pit and initial stripping of that open pit area. We spent approximately $60 million on construction through March 2026, which represents about 21% of our updated budget of $284 million. At the Condor project in Ecuador, we plan to develop two 1,500-meter-long exploration tunnels into the Camp and Las Colinas deposits to support underground drilling and advance exploration and resource definition.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

To move forward, we require an environmental license and water permits. The water permits have been approved by the relevant government authorities. Technical reports for the environmental license were also completed and submitted to the relevant government agencies for review. The environmental impact study for the Condor project has been approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. We're now actively engaged in formal consultation with directly impacted communities.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

This is the last step required to secure the small-scale mining license, which we're targeting for Q2 fiscal 2027. Once received, we'll then commence development of those underground access tunnels into the two deposits. This access we would expect to use if and when we transition to a mining operation, once we receive the appropriate permits for this and the necessary surface infrastructure. Turning to Kyrgyzstan. In late January, we acquired a 100% interest in Chaarat ZAAV for $92 million. This is the Kyrgyz entity that holds the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash gold projects. This is an important step in our strategy to build a more globally diversified producer with added exposure to gold's strong fundamentals.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Subsequent to year-end in May, we successfully completed the next step by converting ZAV into a joint venture company, with Silvercorp owning a 72% interest and acting as operator, and Kyrgyzaltyn, the state-owned gold company, holding the remaining 30%. At the same time, the Kyrgyz government issued a new mining license, extending the validity of the mining period by 30 years to June of 2062, for which we made a $60 million payment, which had been previously agreed. Together, these projects give us the opportunity to apply our mine building expertise and financial strength to unlock value through a phased development approach, starting with the fully permitted Tulkubash project, followed by Kyzyltash. Since we announced this deal, we've been actively advancing Tulkubash.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Our focus is on updating the bankable feasibility study, adapting and localizing engineering designs, and continuing surface work and site preparation to move the project towards construction, with initial pre-stripping targeted for Q2 fiscal 2027. We look forward to providing further updates on our development plans for Tulkubash in the near future. Last but not least, earlier this week, we filed an application to list our shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, something we expect to occur later this year. Our rationale is that such a listing will give us the opportunity to present the Silvercorp investment case to a new audience of investors, one that has shown itself to be receptive to mining stocks in general, and in particular, to profitable global growth-oriented companies. With these comments, I'd like to open the call for questions, operator.

Operator

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conduct the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star two. If you're using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment, please, for your first question. Your first question comes from the line of Joseph Reagor from ROTH Capital Analyst. Please go ahead.

Joseph Reagor
Joseph Reagor
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Hey, Lon and team. Thanks for taking the questions, congrats on a strong finish to the year. I guess, well, first thing, I mean, we're pretty far into your fiscal Q1 already. Is there any color you can give us about how things are going? Is everything according to plan and, or is there any one-time maintenance or anything we should be aware of?

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

First off, thanks, Joe, for joining and your question. No, nothing notable that is worth reporting.

Joseph Reagor
Joseph Reagor
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Okay. On this third mill for Ying, when do you expect that to start contributing production? Essentially, I believe it's replacing what, mill number one, right? What's the total capacity going to be when everything's said and done?

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Yeah. Once we've built mill number three and decommissioned mill number one, we're looking at around 6,500 tons per day of milling capacity. We expect to commission mill number three roughly a year from now in Q1 fiscal 2028. As it comes on stream, we look to ramp down and then eventually decommission. It's not going to sort of happen instantaneously. We'd look to switch over and shut down mill number one after that.

Joseph Reagor
Joseph Reagor
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Okay. Obviously that'd be a significant increase from your current planned milling rates. How should we think about that extra capacity? Should we expect an updated mine plan to come out where it shows what % of that capacity you're going to actually use?

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

With the report that I mentioned, that'll give detailed mine plans for each of the now seven at Ying and, with Kuanping, eight mines that are going to be ramping up with, obviously, these permit expansions. As we get the safety production licenses validated, forecasts will factor in growth from each of those, and you can see how that tonnage will be used by mill number two and three going forward.

Joseph Reagor
Joseph Reagor
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Okay. All right. I'll look forward to that. I'll turn it over. Thank you.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Thanks, Joe.

Operator

As a reminder, if you have any questions, please press star one. This concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to management for any closing remarks.

Lon Shaver
Lon Shaver
President at Silvercorp

Okay. Well, great. Thanks, operator, and thanks very much for joining us today. If anyone did have or does have any further questions, happy to address that through calls or emails going forward. We look forward to catching up next time on our Q1 fiscal 2027 results in early August. Have a great day, everyone.

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a wonderful day.

Analysts
    • Joseph Reagor
      Analyst at ROTH Capital
    • Lon Shaver
      President at Silvercorp