TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Americas Silver Corporation (USA.TO) (NYSE American: USAS) (“Americas Silver” or the “Company”) today reported fourth quarter and year-end financial and operational results for 2017.

This earnings release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual 2017 Production and Costs Update, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Financial Statements and Notes to Financial Statements for the corresponding period, which have been posted on the Americas Silver Corporation SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, on its EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov, and are also available on the Company’s website at www.americassilvercorp.com. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

Year-end and Fourth Quarter Highlights

• Revenues of $54.3 million in 2017, excluding $9.8 million of El Cajón and San Rafael pre-production revenues, which were capitalized to development costs, compared with revenues of $58.9 million in 2016.
• A net loss of ($3.5) million or ($0.09) cents per share in 2017, compared with a net loss of ($5.2) million or ($0.15) cents per share in 2016.
• Cash flow generated from operating activities¹ in 2017 of $5.5 million, compared to cash flow generated from operating activities in 2016 of $5.7 million.
• Consolidated year-end production was approximately 2.1 million silver ounces and 4.7 million silver equivalent² ounces at cost of sales of $10.13 per silver equivalent ounce, by-product cash costs³ of $9.45 per silver ounce, and all-in sustaining costs³ of $13.29 per silver ounce.
• Consolidated fourth quarter production was approximately 400,000 silver ounces and 1.4 million silver equivalent ounces at cost of sales of $10.16 per silver equivalent ounce, by-product cash costs of $8.75 per silver ounce, and all-in sustaining costs of $14.20 per silver ounce.
• The San Rafael mine declared commercial production effective December 19, 2017 and was constructed for approximately $16.3 million, 32% lower than the initial project guidance.
• Guidance for 2018 is 1.6 - 2.0 million silver ounces and 7.2 - 8.0 million silver equivalent ounces at cash costs of negative ($10.00) to negative ($5.00) per silver ounce and all-in sustaining costs of negative ($1.00) to $4.00 per silver ounce.
• Cash balance at December 31, 2017 of $9.3 million with net working capital of approximately $11.8 million.

Fiscal 2017 Overview

Fiscal 2017 was an eventful and transitional year for Americas Silver. Management accomplished its goal of developing the San Rafael mine with mill modifications to commercial production, on time and under budget. The mine was developed from existing cash and cash generated from operations with no dilution to existing shareholders. The development was completed while operating both the El Cajón and Nuestra Señora mines, accumulating a 57,000 tonnes stockpile from Nuestra Señora.

Fiscal 2018 is expected to be a transformative year for the Company as cash flow from the San Rafael mine is used to advance the exploration and development of its land holdings. To this end, a $2 million exploration program was executed in 2017 on the 100%-owned Zone 120 silver-copper deposit to further explore the extent and concentration of mineralization of the deposit with significant results released to date. The 2018 drilling was subsequently approved by the Board with an additional budget of over $4 million to continue this program. Results to date have increased the footprint of the mineralization, indicating the presence of a significant mineralized system consisting of multiple lenses over mineable widths and strike lengths.

On the corporate development side, an option was purchased on the zinc-silver San Felipe project in Sonora, Mexico for $7 million plus VAT. The Company also entered into a low-cost, $15 million pre-payment facility with a division of Glencore PLC and repaid $8 million to its previous lenders. In January, the Company began trading on the NYSE American exchange in order to provide a greater access to future capital and liquidity to its shareholders.

“I am impressed by what our team accomplished in 2017,” said Darren Blasutti, President and CEO. “At current metal prices, San Rafael is expected to generate significant cash flow which will be used to grow our silver production without equity dilution. We are particularly pleased with the drilling results on the Zone 120 deposit in 2017 and so far in 2018. This deposit has the potential to become the Company’s next development project with the ability to further lever off our existing infrastructure given its proximity to San Rafael.”

Consolidated Production and Operating Costs

Consolidated silver production for 2017 totalled 2.1 million silver ounces which represents a decrease of 14% compared to 2016. Silver equivalent production totalled 4.7 million ounces which represents an increase of 4% compared to 2016, while zinc and copper production increased 11% and 10% year-over-year, respectively, as a result of strong production from the Cosalá Operations.

Despite lower annual silver production, and excluding pre-production revenues of $8.9 million, production revenues decreased only slightly by $4.6 million or 8% from $58.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 to $54.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, while net loss improved to $3.5 million compared to a net loss $5.2 million loss during the previous year, a $1.7 million improvement. Improvement in net loss was mainly attributable to lower cost of sales and lower interest and financing expense, partially offset by lower net revenue on concentrate sales and higher corporate general and administrative expenses related to share-based compensation and the NYSE American listing costs. The Company also generated cash from operating activities before non-cash working capital items of $5.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2017.