The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is taking a fall today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold miner closed yesterday trading for $13.37 apiece. At time of writing, Northern Star shares are swapping hands for $12.55 apiece, down 6.1%, having earlier posted losses of more than 9%.
ASX 200 investors are hitting the sell button this morning following the release of the gold miner's quarterly results.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are ASX 200 investors hitting the sell button?
The Northern Star share price is sliding today after the company reported some solid, but mixed, results for the quarter ending 30 June.
The miner sold 426,000 ounces of gold over the quarter with all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) of $1,700 per ounce (US$1,139 per ounce). Notably, the all-in costs (AIC) were sizeably higher at $2,208 per ounce.
If you're not familiar, AISC relates costs relate to sustaining current production levels. AIC includes costs related to growth.
For FY23, Northern Star reported growth capital expenditure of $752 million, which came in above its revised expectations. The miner said this was primarily from its "KCGM Mill Expansion early works and procurement of long-lead items, increased capital drilling at Jundee (Yandal) and commercial production being declared later than planned at Otto Bore (Yandal)".
FY23 sales and costs fell with the miner's guidance, with 1.563 million ounces of gold sold at an AISC of $1,759 per ounce.
The Northern Star share price could be under some pressure with both sales and costs coming in at the very low end of guidance. The miner had forecast sales of 1.56 million ounces to 1.68 million ounces of gold at an AISC between $1,730 and $1,760 per ounce.
Still, it was a solid quarter, with record quarterly performance at its Pogo mine and the miner completing 42% of its on-market share buyback program to the tune of $300 million. As at 30 June, the company had net cash of $362 million, with combined cash and bullion holdings of $1.25 billion.
Commenting on the results, Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said:
We finished the year with increasing operational momentum, meeting our full year production and cost guidance. As we look ahead to FY24 and beyond, the quarterly performance reinforces the strength and stability of Northern Star's asset base…
We welcome the recent approval of the KCGM Mill Expansion, which sets up the next phase of enhancement for one of the world's largest gold mines.
Looking to what could impact the Northern Star share price in the year ahead, for FY24 the ASX 200 gold miner provided guidance of 1.6 million ounces to 1.75 million ounces of gold sold at an AISC of $1,730 to $1,790 an ounce.
It expects an FY24 growth capital budget of $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion with an exploration budget of $150 million.
Northern Star share price snapshot
Despite today's sizeable intraday losses, the Northern Star share price remains up a whopping 86% since this time last year. Shares are up 13% in 2023 so far.
