INDEPENDENCEGROUPNL AND CONTROLLED ENTITIES
ABN 46 092 786 304
PRELIMINARYFINALREPORTINFORMATION- 1 JULY2014 TO30 JUNE2015
LODGED WITH THEASX UNDERLISTINGRULE4.3A
Key Information - Results for Announcement to the Market
$'000
|
% Increase over Previous Corresponding Period
|
Revenue from ordinary activities
|
495,326
|
24.1%
|
Profit from ordinary activities after tax attributable to members
|
76,779
|
58.1%
|
Net profit attributable to members
|
79,779
|
58.1%
|
The previous corresponding period is the year ended 30 June 2014.
2015
|
2014
|
Basic earnings per share (cents)
|
32.78
|
20.82
|
Diluted earnings per share (cents)
|
32.47
|
20.64
|
Net tangible assets per share (cents)
|
2.84
|
2.61
|
The major factors contributing to the above variances are as follows: Revenue from ordinary activities:
Revenue from the Tropicana gold operation increased by 59% as a result of a full year's production, post commissioning. As a result, gold refined and sold increased 51% during the period;
The Jaguar Operation contributed an additional 16% revenue during the period. The drivers of this result were an increase in zinc revenue of 48%, due to a combination of 30% higher payable zinc sold and 18% higher
realised prices. Copper revenue fell 10% due to lower realised prices;
Long revenue decreased by 6% during 2015; a volume driven result with 6% lower payable nickel sold.
Profit from ordinary activities for the current period was significantly higher than the previous corresponding period's result. This is due to an increase in Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation1of 44% to
$212,733,000, primarily due to a $135,301,000 full year's contribution from the Tropicana project (2014:
$84,872,000). The full year's gold production contributed to an overall positive volume sales variance for the Group of
$78,916,000. A positive realised price variance of $17,581,000 also contributed to the result. Offsetting these increases were higher depreciation and amortisation charges of $32,613,000. This increase was primarily due to the full year's depletion of Tropicana reserves during the year, resulting in a corresponding higher depreciation charge against Tropicana segment assets on the basis of the reserve depletion.
Further details and analysis can be found in the Operating and Financial Review contained in the Directors' Report of the Financial Report following this Appendix.
The Company paid a fully franked interim dividend of 6 cents per share in March 2015 equating to $14,055,000. The Company has announced the establishment of a final dividend pool of $13,000,000, The record date for this final dividend is expected to be no later than 30 September 2015. The final dividend will be fully franked.
The Company did not gain or lose control over any entity during the period.
The accounts have been audited by BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd. The accounts are not subject to dispute or qualification.
1 Underlying EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure and comprises net profit or loss after tax, adjusted to exclude tax expense, finance costs, interest income, asset impairments, depreciation and amortisation.
Independence Group NL
ABN 46 092 786 304
Financial report
for the year ended 30 June 2015
Suite 4, Level 5 South Shore Centre, 85 South Perth Esplanade, South Perth, Western Australia
PO Box 496, South Perth, Western Australia, 6951
Telephone: +61 8 9238 8300
Facsimile: +61 8 9238 8399
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.igo.com.au
Independence Group NL ABN 46 092 786 304
Financial report - 30 June 2015
Contents
Page
Directors' report 1
Financial statements 26
Independent auditor's report to the members 93
Independence Group NL
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Your Directors present their report on the consolidated entity (referred to hereafter as the Group) consisting of Independence Group NL (referred to hereafter as the Company) and the entities it controlled at the end of, or during, the year ended 30 June 2015.
Directors
The following persons held office as Directors of Independence Group NL during the whole of the financial year and up to the date of this report, unless otherwise noted:
Peter Bilbe Peter Bradford Peter Buck Geoffrey Clifford Rod Marston Kelly Ross
Keith Spence
Peter Buck and Keith Spence were appointed as Non-executive Directors on 3 October 2014 and 17 December 2014 respectively and continue in office at the date of this report.
Rod Marston was a Non-executive Director from the beginning of the financial year until his retirement on 20 November
2014.
Kelly Ross was a Non-executive Director from the beginning of the financial year until her retirement on 24 December
2014.
Principal activities
The principal activities of the Group during the financial year were non-operator gold mining from the Company's 30% interest in the Tropicana gold mine, nickel mining at the Long Operation, zinc and by-product mining at the Jaguar Operations and ongoing mineral exploration.
Dividends - Independence Group NL
Dividends paid to members during the financial year were as follows:
Final ordinary dividend for the year ended 30 June 2014 of 5 cents (2013: 1 cent) per
2015
$'000
2014
$'000
fully paid share 11,713 2,333
Interim ordinary dividend for the year ended 30 June 2015 of 6 cents (2014: 3 cents)
per fully paid share 14,055 7,000
25,768 9,333
In addition to the above dividends, since the end of the financial year the Company has announced the establishment of a final dividend pool of $13,000,000. The record date for this final dividend is expected to be no later than 30 September
2015. The final dividend will be fully franked.
Operating and financial review
Independence Group NL is a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:IGO). The Company has been listed on the ASX since 17 January 2002, having traded as Independence Gold NL from 17 January 2002 to 19
December 2003.
Independence Group NL 1
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
The Group currently has operations in the production phase in Western Australia comprising:
• The Tropicana gold operation (IGO: Non-operator joint venturer; 30% owned) located 330km east northeast of Kalgoorlie. The operation comprises approximately 3,000km2of tenements (excluding the Beachcomber and Salt Creek joint venture tenure) stretching over more than 275km in strike length along the Yilgarn Craton and Fraser Range Mobile Belt Collision Zone. The Company targeted and pegged the area containing the current Ore Reserves in 2001. AngloGold Ashanti farmed into the project in 2002, discovering Tropicana, Havana and the
Boston Shaker gold deposits in 2005, 2006 and 2010 respectively. The gold deposits occur over a 5km strike length with gold mineralisation intersected to a depth of 1km vertically beneath the natural surface. The decision by the Tropicana Joint Venture partners to develop the Tropicana Gold Mine was announced in November 2010 following a positive bankable feasibility study assessment. In early 2011, construction commenced with the site access road, followed by key site infrastructure including an aerodrome, accommodation village, borefields and processing plant. Mining of the Havana deposit commenced in 2012.
• Commissioning of the processing plant occurred in 2013, with the first gold poured in September 2013. Nameplate capacity of the processing plant, 5.8Mtpa, was achieved in March 2014.
Independence Group NL 2
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
• The Jaguar zinc, copper and silver mine and processing operations, located 60km north of Leonora in Western Australia - 100% owned. The Jaguar Operation consists of the Bentley underground mine, the Jaguar processing facility and administration infrastructure and the accommodation village. These assets are situated on tenure that hosts a 50km long corridor of prospective stratigraphy.
The prospective corridor has hosted three economically viable volcanogenic massive sulphides ('VMS') ore bodies. The first deposit discovered was Teutonic Bore in 1976. The Jaguar deposit was discovered in 2002, approximately
4km south of Teutonic Bore and the most recent discovery, the Bentley deposit located another 4km south of
Jaguar, was discovered in 2008.
All ore is processed at the Jaguar concentrator, which produces both a copper and a zinc concentrate. The copper concentrate also contains significant silver and gold credits. The concentrates are trucked to the port of Geraldton for export; and
• The Long nickel mine located near Kambalda - 100% owned. The Company acquired the Long Operation in Kambalda, Western Australia, from BHP Billiton Nickel West Pty Ltd ('BHPB Nickel West') in September 2002. The mine was successfully re-commissioned in October 2002 and has been operating successfully and safely since then.
Since recommissioning, and through to 30 June 2015, the Long Operation has mined 2.9 million ore tonnes for
116,215 tonnes of contained metal and has achieved exploration success with the discovery of the McLeay (2005)
and Moran (2008) ore bodies. At the time of purchasing the Long Operation, the Group entered into an offtake agreement with BHPB Nickel West whereby the ore produced from the mine is delivered to the adjacent BHPB Nickel West Kambalda Nickel Concentrator for toll treatment and production of nickel concentrate. The current offtake agreement with BHPB Nickel West expires in February 2019.
Sirius Resources NL transaction - On 25 May 2015, the Company and Sirius Resources NL ('Sirius') announced the execution of a binding Scheme Implementation Deed ('SID') under which the Company will acquire all the issued capital of Sirius by way of an Acquisition Scheme of Arrangement (the 'Acquisition Scheme').
Under the Acquisition Scheme, Sirius shareholders will receive 0.66 IGO shares and 52 cents cash for each Sirius share. Sirius shareholders will also participate pro-rata in the demerger of the Polar Bear and Scandinavian exploration assets.
The transaction is intended to create a leading diversified Australian mining company with a strong portfolio of high-margin/long-life mining assets, across a range of base and precious metals. The combination of the two companies has a strategic rationale of generating significant value for the shareholders of both companies. A successful acquisition will bring the world-class Nova Project into the IGO Group portfolio. The Boards of both IGO and Sirius have unanimously recommended that all Sirius shareholders vote in favour of the Acquisition Scheme.
The transaction remains on track with Sirius shareholders expected to approve the scheme in early September 2015 and the Company expected to complete the issue of the Share Scheme consideration in mid-September 2015.
The Group is also an active explorer for base and precious metals within and outside of Australia. Active search areas within Australia include:
• Tropicana (Havana) Near-mine Exploration - A total of 187 aircore ('AC') holes (7,034m), 49 reverse circulation ('RC') holes (6,822m) and 44 diamond holes (11,009) were completed in FY2015 targeting down dip extensions to mineralisation at Tropicana, Havana North and Havana South. Better results include 12m @ 1.79g/t Au and 5m @
5.25g/t Au at Havana North, 8m @ 3.48g/t Au at Crouching Tiger and 19m @ 1.19g/t in the Tropicana Extensions area.
A high resolution 3D seismic survey was completed over the immediate down dip projection of the Tropicana ore body. This work has highlighted a number of high priority structural targets which are currently being drill tested.
• Regional exploration continues to identify and test numerous prospects. In total 774 AC holes (46,514m), 65 RC holes (7,465m) and eight diamond holes (1,312m) were completed. Encouraging gold assay results were returned from several prospects. The most significant came from Madras, located 25km south of Tropicana. Drilling will continue throughout calendar 2015 to define the extent of mineralisation at Madras.
Independence Group NL 3
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
• Beachcomber and Salt Creek Joint Ventures - During FY2015, the Company entered into two joint ventures with AngloGold Ashanti whereby it has the right to increase its interest in certain tenements from 30% to 70% by spending an aggregate of $6 million over 4 years. The Beachcomber JV comprises five tenements at the southern end of the Tropicana JV footprint covering approximately 140km2and the Salt Creek JV covers eleven tenements on the eastern margin of the Tropicana JV footprint covering approximately 2,300km2. The Company withdrew from the Beachcomber JV on 25 June 2015 and the tenements reverted back to the Tropicana JV.
The Salt Creek JV is targeting mafic intrusive related magmatic nickel-copper sulphides, which is a similar style of mineralisation to Sirius' Nova-Bollinger. The initial exploration work programme will continue through the remainder of calendar 2015.
• Jaguar Operation Exploration - Exploration activities at the Jaguar Operation focused on in-mine, near-mine and regional exploration.
The Jaguar Operation is currently focusing its in-mine exploration activity on seeking additional resources at depth at Bentley and near-processing plant deposits. At Bentley work is also focused on in-fill drilling on the Arnage and Flying Spur lens in order to enhance resource definition with a view to achieving incremental increases in mine life at the Bentley deposit.
In terms of regional exploration, the Jaguar Operation covers 50km of strike prospective for the discovery of VMS deposits. It encompasses three known high grade zinc-copper-silver-gold deposits: Teutonic Bore (inactive), Jaguar (mining completed in FY2014) and Bentley (in production). Ongoing exploration has identified a number of high priority areas and exploration activities during FY2015 have been focused on the Triumph Prospect, approximately
5km north of the Jaguar processing plant. Drilling at Triumph has identified disseminated, stringer, semi-massive and massive base metal sulphide mineralisation with a shallow southerly plunge which extends over a strike of at least 450m. Drilling to define the continuity and extent of mineralisation is ongoing.
• Darlot JV (IGO Manager and earning 70% - 80%) - During FY2014, the Company entered into a joint venture on the Darlot Project, held by Enterprise Metals Limited. The Company is earning a 70%-80% interest in the project which covers some 740km2of tenure approximately 60km north and along-strike from the Group's Jaguar Operation. The Darlot Project, which covers similar volcanic stratigraphy to the Jaguar Operation, has strategic value to the Group as any base metals discoveries are potentially within economically viable trucking distance of its Jaguar processing facility. Late in FY2015, an aircore program comprising 106 holes for 4,968m tested the Jarrah Well and 20ft prospects. Earlier wide-spaced aircore drilling at these prospects last year outlined anomalous base metals and VMS pathfinder geochemical responses associated with black shale horizons. The current program was designed
to infill and extend previous drilling to generate targets for follow-up deeper RC and diamond drill testing. Results are in the process of being evaluated.
• Long Operation Exploration - During the financial year, exploration activities at the Long Operation have focused on in-mine exploration with a view to growing the resource base and extending mine life. The Long Operation is currently focusing its in-mine exploration activity on Moran South and McLeay South.
• Stockman Project - 100% owned - The Stockman Project is located in Eastern Victoria, 460km by road north-east of Melbourne. The proposed project is on mining tenements approximately 19km east-south-east of Benambra in the East Gippsland region. The project encompasses two copper-zinc-lead-silver-gold VMS deposits, Wilga and Currawong, which were discovered in 1978 and 1979. The larger Currawong deposit is intact, whilst a core of copper-rich ore from the Wilga deposit was mined and processed onsite between 1992 and 1996.
The scope of the Stockman Project encompasses concurrent development of the two underground deposits to feed a central 1.0Mtpa differential flotation concentrator that could produce approximately 150,000tpa of copper and zinc concentrates over a project life of approximately ten years. The development includes recommissioning the Wilga underground mine, a new Currawong underground mine and construction of a process plant and infrastructure.
The existing tailings storage facility will be expanded for use by the project, whilst water will be sourced from either local onsite sources or, if required, off-site.
On 28 November 2014, the Company announced the results of an optimisation study on the Stockman Project that, among other things, included an updated Ore Reserve estimate for the project.
This review should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the accompanying notes.
Independence Group NL 4
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
The objective and strategy of the Group is to create long-term shareholder value through the discovery, development and acquisition of low cost and high grade projects. Since incorporation in 2002, and including the current financial year, the Company has returned to shareholders in excess of $119 million by way of a combination of $110.0 million fully franked dividends and a $9.7 million share buy back in 2009. The Company currently has 235,580,187 shares outstanding.
The Group's future prospects are dependent on a number of external factors that are summarised towards the end of this report.
At the end of the financial year, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of $121.3 million (2014: $57.0 million).
Cash flows from operating activities achieved a record for the Group of $201.7 million (an increase of 57% during the year). Contributing to this result was a full year contribution of gold sales from Tropicana as against nine months production in 2014. Segment contribution increases arose from both Tropicana (37%) and the Jaguar Operations (54%) with a reduction of 4% from the Long Operation. Payments for exploration expenditure fell by 15% to $25.7 million.
Cash flows from investing activities fell 12% during the year. This fall was primarily due to higher construction and development spend at Tropicana during its final pre-operating financial year; development capital expenditure fell by
73% to $44.1 million. Other movements comprised a $7.7 million increase in property plant and equipment expenditure to $16.6 million (primarily at Jaguar), and the acquisition of approximately 33.8 million shares in Gold Road Resources Limited (ASX: GOR) for a total consideration of $13.1 million in the second half of FY2015.
Cash flows from financing activities during the financial year rose significantly from 'neutral' in 2014 to an outflow of
$54.4 million in FY2015. Significant movements include the repayment of $25.0 million in debt from the Company's corporate finance facility with National Australia Bank ($47.0 million debt was drawn from the facility in FY2014), and higher dividends paid of $25.8 million (2014: $9.3 million). The finance facility matures in December 2015 and as at 30
June 2015 was fully repaid. The facility currently is undrawn. On 16 July 2015, the Company entered into a new syndicated facility agreement ('Debt Agreement') with National Australia Bank Limited, Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited for a $550 million committed term finance facility
on an unsecured basis. The Debt Agreement comprises a five year $350 million amortising term loan facility that will be used to refinance Sirius' existing Nova Project finance facility, and provide funds for the continued development, construction and operation of the Nova Project; and a five year $200 million revolving loan facility that will be used to partially fund the payment of the cash component of the Acquisition Scheme and transaction costs, in addition to providing funding for general corporate purposes.
During discussions of the operating results of its business, the Group's Board and management monitor a measure known as Underlying EBITDA. The Board considers this measure to be important to the Group and investors alike, as it represents a useful proxy to measuring an operation's cash generating capabilities. Underlying EBITDA is calculated as profit after tax adjusted for income tax expense, finance costs, interest income, asset impairments, depreciation and amortisation. Underlying EBITDA increased relative to the previous financial year as can be seen in the following chart:
Independence Group NL 5
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
Net profit after tax ('NPAT') for the year of $76.8 million outperformed the 2014 financial year NPAT of $48.6 million. The chart below outlines the key drivers of the results for FY2015 compared to the corresponding year. 90% of the volume variance is driven by a full year's gold production from Tropicana. In addition, zinc contributed 21%, with falls in output from Long (10%). The cost of production increase and depreciation and amortisation charge also relates primarily to Tropicana's full year of operations.
During the year, the Group adopted a voluntary change in accounting policy whereby exploration and evaluation expenditure that is incurred is capitalised only if it is anticipated that future economic benefits are more likely than not to be generated as a result of the expenditures. Otherwise, exploration and evaluation expenditure will be expensed. The change in accounting policy has been adopted retrospectively, and hence prior year's reported figures in this financial report may differ from figures reported in last years' financial report.
Independence Group NL 6
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
Below is a reconciliation of Underlying EBITDA to NPAT for FY2015:
Depreciation and amortisation expense ('D&A') of $98.6 million includes $55.9 million relating to Tropicana, $21.9 million to Long Operations, $19.7 million to Jaguar Operations and the balance to corporate assets. Jaguar's D&A increased by 108% during the year, primarily as a result of increased amortisation from a higher proportion of ore sourced from reserves compared to the previous year, together with additional depreciation charges following the replenishment of the underground haulage and production fleet.
Operations
Tropicana Gold Project
The table below outlines the key results and operational statistics during the current and prior year.
Tropicana Gold Mine 2015 2014*
Total revenue
|
$'000
|
218,966
|
137,918
|
Segment operating profit before tax
|
$'000
|
76,117
|
48,332
|
Total segment assets
|
$'000
|
645,071
|
440,585
|
Total segment liabilities
|
$'000
|
31,748
|
29,705
|
Gold ore mined (>0.6g/t Au)
|
'000 wmt
|
10,763
|
5,721
|
Gold ore mined (>0.4 and 0.6g/t Au)
|
'000 wmt
|
1,601
|
1,088
|
Waste mined
|
'000 wmt
|
42,761
|
25,251
|
Gold grade mined (>0.6g/t)
|
g/t
|
2.06
|
2.22
|
Ore milled
|
'000 wmt
|
5,826
|
4,043
|
Gold grade milled
|
g/t
|
2.98
|
3.02
|
Metallurgical recovery
|
%
|
90.2
|
89.4
|
Gold recovered
|
Ounces
|
492,780
|
350,743
|
Gold produced
|
Ounces
|
496,413
|
348,371
|
Gold refined and sold (IGO share)
|
Ounces
|
150,836
|
100,167
|
Cash Costs
|
$ per ounce produced
|
568
|
552
|
All-in Sustaining Costs ('AISC')**
|
$ per ounce sold
|
795
|
740
|
* 2014 refers to the period October 2013 to June 2014 being the period when the first full month of commissioning commenced.
** All-in Sustaining costs is a measure derived by the World Gold Council. On 27 June 2013, the Council released a publication outlining definitions of both Cash Costs and All-in Sustaining Costs.
Independence Group NL 7
Directors' report
30 June 2015
Operating and financial review (continued)
Operations (continued)
Tropicana Gold Project (continued)
Total revenue increased by 59% as a result of a full year's production, post commissioning. Total segment assets increased by 46% due to ongoing contributions by the Company to the operation by way of cash calls paid to the joint venture manager. Cash calls paid during the year totalled $142.5 million (2014: $110.2 million). Another significant contribution to total assets includes capitalised inventories (increase of 97% to $43.8 million). This is the outcome of the current mining strategy to mine and process higher grade ore in the initial three years of production. At year end, the capitalised run of mine stockpile comprised ore > 0.6g/t and totalled 8.9 million tonnes grading an average of 1.09g/t (2014: 3.2 million tonnes at 1.22g/t).
Based on current ore reserves, the mine currently has a life of approximately eight years.
Long Operation
Independence Long Pty Ltd has entered into a long term ore tolling agreement with BHPB Nickel West whereby the Group is paid for the nickel metal contained in the ore mined, less applicable ore toll charges. Revenue from nickel sales is priced on a quotational period of three months after the month of production. 70% of the sales receipt is provisionally paid based on the average London Metals Exchange ('LME') price for the month of delivery; a balancing adjustment is paid in the fourth month after delivery based on the average LME price of the third month after delivery. The mine produced 10,198 tonnes of contained nickel during the year at payable cash costs including royalties (net of copper credits) of $4.01 per pound (2014: $3.78 per pound).
The Long Operation constitutes an operating segment as disclosed in the Financial Report. During the year a total of
258,634 tonnes of ore was mined, sourced from Moran - 68%, Long Lower - 15%, McLeay - 12% and Victor South - 5%. The majority of ore continued to be mined from long hole stoping (70%) with lesser amounts coming from other
mechanised mining methods and non-mechanised methods.
Total segment revenue decreased by 6% during 2015; a result which is volume driven with 6% lower payable nickel sold. Net operating profit before income tax fell 12% during 2015 due to lower nickel tonnage sold together with 6% higher cash costs during the year.
Based on current ore reserves, the mine currently has a life of approximately two and a half years. The table below highlights the key results and operational statistics during the current and prior year.
Long Nickel Mine 2015 2014
* Cash costs include credits for copper
Independence Group NL 8