OTTAWA, Nov. 25, 2015 /CNW/ - In publishing its 2015
Third Quarter Financial Report, the Royal Canadian Mint announced
consolidated revenues of $928.5
million for the 13 weeks ended September 26, 2015, representing an 85.5%
increase over the same period in 2014. A sustained resurgence
in gold and silver bullion demand, paired with robust sales of
numismatic products have put the Mint on track to exceed revenue
targets set out in its 2014-2018 Corporate Plan. Upon
completing a strategic review, the Mint also adopted a new vision:
"Delivering excellence... through our customer-driven
businesses, our talented people and the value we add to
Canada and Canadians."
"By reorganizing and refocusing the Mint, we have taken
proactive steps to ensure that the Mint is ideally positioned to
attract new customers to our industry-leading coin products and
technologies," said Sandra L.
Hanington, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian
Mint. "With still more room to grow our numismatic and
bullion businesses and emerging opportunities on the international
coin market, the Mint is facing the future from a position of
strength."
In undertaking a strategic review to ensure continued success
under changing market conditions, the Mint adjusted and redeployed
part of its workforce, reorganized its business lines, and
re-assessed operating costs. After concluding that the
valuation of the Mint's circulation business assets was impaired
due to the recent elimination of anticipated profit for Canadian
circulation coin production and lower international revenue
projections, a $65.5 million non-cash
impairment charge was recorded in Q3 2015.
Pre-impairment consolidated profit before taxes increased 146.3%
to $20.2 million from $8.2 million in the same period in 2014. The
increase was driven by strong bullion and numismatic results. The
$65.5 million impairment loss drove
the consolidated profit before taxes to a loss of $45.3 million in the third quarter, compared to a
profit of $8.2 million in the same
period in 2014.
Year-to-date production of Canadian circulation coins is up
compared to the same 2014 period, to 246 million compared to 79
million, as the Mint gradually replenishes inventories
affected by a drop in financial institution deposits and a lower
opening inventory for the year. The number of recycled coins
available for circulation also increased slightly to 428 million
year-to-date, compared to 410 million after the first three
quarters of 2014. As well, the Mint launched 12.5 million
25-cent commemorative circulation
coins celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Canadian
flag on June 9, 2015, which were the
first Canadian coins to feature the Mint's advanced pad-printing
colouring technology.
The Circulation Products and Solutions Business Line,
incorporating foreign circulation sales and the Alloy Recovery
Program, is on track to break even for 2015. The Mint shipped 336.6
million coins and blanks to 12 countries in the third quarter of
2015, compared to 402.0 million coins and blanks shipped to nine
countries during the same period last year. While foreign
circulation sales declined by 9.2% to $11.9
million from $13.1 million in
Q3 2014, the Mint has secured large volume coin and blank contracts
for two countries in the current quarter.
Revenue from the Alloy Recovery Program, through which the metal
content of alloy coins collected through the recycling program is
recovered and sold, increased 32.0% to $6.6
million from $5.0 million in
the third quarter of 2014.
Bullion Products and Services revenues of $840.4 million more than doubled in Q3 2015 over
the $409.8 million recorded in the
third quarter of 2014, with demand for both gold and silver bullion
products exceeding expectations, up 135.5% and 75.9% respectively
in terms of ounces. Nearly 10 million ounces of silver
bullion, mostly as Silver Maple Leaf coins, were sold in 2015.
A highlight of the financial quarter was the North American
launch of the Mint's Bullion DNA Anti-Counterfeiting Technology at
the American Numismatic Association's 2015 World's Fair of Money in
Chicago, Illinois on August 22. As part of its commitment to innovate
for the benefit of its customers, the Mint developed a counter-top
device which now allows genuine Gold and Silver Maple Leaf bullion
coins to be identified and certified in-store. This advanced
security technology will soon be rolled out to the international
bullion market.
Numismatics and collectibles revenues continued to increase in
the third quarter of 2015, with sales of $51.5 million representing an increase of 13.9%
over Q3 2014. Revenues have been generated by a strong core
of existing customers as well as new ones acquired through targeted
campaigns and sales strategies.
Prominent numismatic coins issued in Q3 2015 included a series
of gold and silver coins celebrating the historic reign of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; a fine silver coloured coin
commemorating the loss of the Franklin Expedition in Canadian
waters; our first coins, in gold and silver, honouring Diwali, the
Festival of Lights; and a new achromatic hologram coin featuring
the story of the northern lights and the legend of the raven, which
was unveiled in Whitehorse, YK on
August 24.
To read more of the Mint's third quarter financial report,
please visit www.mint.ca.
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint
is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and
distribution of Canada's
circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is
recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the
world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage
products and related services on an international scale. For more
information on the Mint, its products and services, visit
www.mint.ca.
SOURCE Royal Canadian Mint