SILVER WHEATON REPORTS EARNINGS OF
US$23 MILLION AND RECORD OPERATING CASH FLOWS OF US$36 MILLION
To view the 2008 Q2 Results
please click
here.
Vancouver, British Columbia
- Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX, NYSE:SLW) is pleased to announce net
earnings of US$23.3 million (US$0.10 per share) and record operating cash
flows of US$35.9 million (US$0.16 per share) for the second quarter of
2008.
SECOND QUARTER
HIGHLIGHTS
- Net
earnings of US$23.3 million (US$0.10 per share) from the sale of 2.9
million ounces of silver, compared to US$22.9 million (US$0.10 per
share) from the sale of 3.1 million ounces of silver in 2007.
- Record
operating cash flows of US$35.9 million (US$0.16 per share) compared
with US$27.8 million (US$0.13 per share) in 2007.
- On
April 30, 2008, pursuant to a letter agreement previously entered
into, Augusta Resource Corporation ("Augusta") elected to
sell to Silver Wheaton 45% of the payable silver to be produced from
its 100% owned Rosemont Copper Project in Arizona, for an upfront
cash payment of US$165 million. The upfront payment will be made on
a drawdown basis to fund mine construction.
- On
May 13, 2008, the Company entered into an agreement with Farallon
Resources Ltd. ("Farallon") to acquire 75% of the silver
produced from Farallon's Campo Morado property in Mexico, for the
life of mine. Silver Wheaton will make total upfront cash payments
of US$80 million in installments and, in addition, a per ounce cash
payment of the lesser of US$3.90 and the prevailing market price is
due (subject to an inflationary adjustment), for silver delivered
under the agreement.
- On
June 2, 2008, the Company entered into an agreement with Aurcana
Corporation ("Aurcana") to acquire 50% of the silver
produced from Aurcana's La Negra mine in Mexico, for the life of
mine. Subsequent to the quarter, Silver Wheaton has made the upfront
cash payment of US$25 million and, in addition, a per ounce cash
payment of the lesser of US$3.90 and the prevailing market price is
due (subject to an inflationary adjustment) for silver delivered
under the agreement.
- On
June 24, 2008, the Company announced that it plans to raise up to
C$136 million through an offer to induce early exercise of the first
series and Series A publicly traded warrants.
- On
June 24, 2008 the Company announced that it had entered into an
amending agreement with existing lenders to increase the revolving
bank debt available by US$100 million to US$400 million.
- During
June 2008, the Company received its first silver deliveries under
the Pe�asquito agreement in the amount of 6,660 ounces.
"This past quarter, we negotiated
more silver stream agreements than any other quarter in our
history," said Peter Barnes, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Silver Wheaton. "With eight silver agreements completed and
another soon to be, we have diversified our portfolio and expanded our
relationships within the industry. The growing capital requirements
associated with mine operators and development companies, combined with
the challenges faced in attracting traditional sources of capital, create
an environment that is ideally suited for Silver Wheaton's business
model. Accordingly, we expect to expand our portfolio of silver contracts
even further in 2008. We are also very excited by the fact that
Pe�asquito, our flagship asset, is proceeding well and that it delivered
its first shipment of silver during the quarter. Pe�asquito promises to
be a long-life, profitable asset for our Company."
A conference call will be held
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 11:00 am (Eastern Time) to discuss these
results. To participate in the live call use one of the following
methods:
Dial toll free from Canada or the
US: 1-888-280-8771
Dial from outside Canada or the US:
1-416-641-6124
Dial toll free from parts of
Europe:
800-6578-9898
Live audio
webcast:
www.silverwheaton.com
Participants should dial in five to ten
minutes before the call.
The conference call will be recorded
and you can listen to an archive of the call by one of the following
methods:
Dial toll free from Canada or the
US: 1-800-408-3053
Dial from outside Canada or the US:
1-416-695-5800
Pass code: 3266186#
Live audio
webcast:
www.silverwheaton.com
Silver Wheaton is the largest public
mining company with 100% of its operating revenue from silver production.
Silver Wheaton expects, based upon its current agreements, to have silver
sales of between 13 million and 15 million ounces in 2008, increasing to
19 million ounces in 2009 and 25 million ounces in 2010.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING
FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS
This
news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to
the future price of silver, the estimation of mineral reserves and
resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and
amount of estimated future production, costs of production, reserve
determination and reserve conversion rates. Generally, these
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects"
or "does not expect", "is expected",
"budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or
"does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations
of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or
results "may", "could", "would",
"might" or "will be taken", "occur" or
"be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Silver
Wheaton to be materially different from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks
related to the integration of acquisitions, the absence of control over
mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver and risks
related to these mining operations, including risks related to
international operations, actual results of current exploration
activities, actual results of current reclamation activities, conclusions
of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue
to be refined, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled
"Description of the Business - Risk Factors" in Silver
Wheaton's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2007
incorporated by reference into Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F on file with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although
Silver Wheaton has attempted to identify important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results
not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated
in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements. Silver Wheaton does not undertake to
update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference
herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
For
further information, please contact:
Brad
Kopp
Director, Investor Relations
Silver Wheaton Corp.
Tel: 1-800-380-8687
Email: info@silverwheaton.com
Website: www.silverwheaton.com
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