The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is down 1% in early trade on Wednesday.
Northern Star shares closed yesterday trading for $8.09 and are currently trading for $8.01 apiece.
This comes as investors mull over the September quarterly results from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold share, released this morning.
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Quarterly performance 'slightly below plan' pressures Northern Star share price
The Northern Star share price is in the red after the miner reported its September quarterly performance was slightly below intentions. But it expects the delayed production to be recovered in the upcoming quarters.
According to the release, gold sold over the three months reached 368,956 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of AU$1,788 per ounce.
Breaking that down by production centre, Northern Star said Kalgoorlie saw 215,224 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of AU$1,762 per ounce; Yandal had 102,562 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of AU$1,584 per ounce; and Pogo saw 51,170 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of US$1,581 per ounce.
Northern Star's Australian mines accounted for 86% of quarterly gold production,
During the quarter, Northern Star spent AU$182 million on growth capital and AU$37 million on exploration.
As at 30 September, the miner had net cash (which includes bullion and deducts bank debts) of AU$173 million. Cash and bullion totalled AU$473 million, while the company held a $300 million corporate bank debt.
Over the quarter, Northern Star paid AU$155 million in stamp duty and AU$132 million in final dividend payouts, fully franked. At the current Norther Star share price, the miner trades at a trailing dividend yield of 2.8%.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results, Northern Star managing director, Stuart Tonkin said:
The September quarter has delivered a solid platform to leave us on track to achieve our FY23 targets…
While labour and cost pressures have stabilised in Western Australia, they remain at elevated levels and supply chains – globally – are still under pressure. Northern Star is positioned well with a highly dedicated and professional team to navigate what remains a challenging operating environment…
It has been another busy and successful start to FY23 as we work on executing our profitable growth strategy to create superior value for shareholders. This included the first share buy-back in Northern Star's history, which we announced during the quarter and started implementing. Our focus remains on safety and sustainably producing profitable ounces from our world class gold assets in the tier-1 locations of Western Australia and Alaska.
What's next?
The Northern Star share price could be getting some support after the company maintained its guidance for FY23 of 1.56 to 1.68 million ounces of gold, which it forecasts will be sold at an AISC of AU$1,630 to $1,690 per ounce.
The gold miner also maintained its FY23 growth capital budget outlook of AU$650 million, with an exploration budget of AU$125 million.
Northern Star share price snapshot
The Northern Star share price has outperformed most of the ASX gold shares in 2022 but is still down 15% for the calendar year. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 11% posted by the ASX 200.
