Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. KL posted record production of 380,472 ounces in fourth-quarter 2021. The figure is up 3% from the year-ago quarter’s levels. The upside indicates higher production at Detour Lake and Macassa mines.

The company also announced a record production of 1,432,616 ounces for 2021, up 5% from the previous year’s levels. The improvement was significantly driven by Fosterville Mine.

Gold sales amounted to 385,850 ounces in the fourth quarter at an average realized price of $1,795 per ounce with gold poured of 385,702 ounces. Gold sales for the year totaled 1,430,554 ounces at an average realized price of $1,797 per ounce with gold poured of 1,430,602 ounces.

The company witnessed record quarterly production in Detour Lake of 210,980 ounces, a 38% rise from 153,143 ounces in the previous year’s quarter and 12% higher than 189,233 ounces in the previous quarter. In the full year, production amounted to 712,824 ounces. The figure increased 38% from 516,757 ounces in the 11 months in 2020 after Detour Lake was acquired on Jan 31, 2020, and rose 27% from 563,253 ounces for FY 2020.

At Fosterville, production was recorded at 108,156 ounces in the fourth quarter and 509,601 ounces in the full year 2021.

At Macassa, total production was 61,336 ounces in the fourth quarter, up 17% from 52,283 ounces in the previous-year quarter and up 33% from 46,097 ounces in the previous quarter. The production for full-year totaled 210,192 ounces, up 15% from 183,037 ounces in the prior year.

The company stated that it completed 2021 with a record quarter of performance on the back of record production at Detour Lake, a robust finish to the year at Macassa and higher-than-planned production at Fosterville as the mine continued to achieve favorable grade performance.

It also generated record operating results and continued to build its financial strength, made significant progress toward completing the merger with Agnico Eagle. The merger will create a new industry leader with low unit costs, the best risk profile, excellent financial strength and an extensive growth pipeline.

The company’s shares have declined 3% in the past year compared with a 14.5% fall of the industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Kirkland Lake Gold currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Albemarle Corporation ALB, Commercial Metals Company CMC and AdvanSix Inc. ASIX.

Albemarle, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has an expected earnings growth rate of 51.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's earnings for the current year has been revised 5.4% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Albemarle beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average being 22.1%. ALB has rallied around 25.7% over a year.

Commercial Metals, flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has a projected earnings growth rate of 10.5% for the current fiscal year. CMC's consensus estimate for the current fiscal year has been revised 6.6% upward in the past 60 days.

Commercial Metals beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters while missing the same once. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 13.1%, on average. CMC has increased around 72.2% over a year.

AdvanSix has a projected earnings growth rate of 3.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASIX’s earnings for the current year has been revised 2% upward in the past 60 days.

AdvanSix beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average being 46.9%. ASIX has surged 97.1% over a year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.

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