Silver Wheaton : Reports Strong First Quarter Results for 2014

TSX: SLW
NYSE: SLW

VANCOUVER, May 8, 2014 /CNW/ - Silver Wheaton Corp. ("Silver Wheaton" or the "Company") (TSX:SLW) (NYSE:SLW) is pleased to announce its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. All figures are presented in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• Attributable silver equivalent production in Q1 2014 of 9.0 million ounces (6.9 million ounces of silver and 33,800 ounces of gold), compared to 8.3 million ounces in Q1 2013, representing an increase of 8%.
  
  
• Attributable silver equivalent sales volume in Q1 2014 of 8.1 million ounces (6.2 million ounces of silver and 30,100 ounces of gold), compared to 6.9 million ounces in Q1 2013, representing an increase of 17%.
  
  
• Revenues of $165.4 million in Q1 2014 compared with $205.8 million in Q1 2013, representing a decrease of 20%.
  
  
• Average realized sale price per silver equivalent ounce sold in Q1 2014 of $20.38 ($20.36 per ounce of silver and $1,283 per ounce of gold), representing a decrease of 31% as compared to Q1 2013.
  
  
• Net earnings of $79.8 million ($0.22 per share) in Q1 2014 compared with $133.4 million ($0.38 per share) in Q1 2013, representing a decrease of 40%.
  
  
• Operating cash flows of $114.8 million ($0.32 per share¹) in Q1 2014 compared with $165.6 million ($0.47 per share¹) in Q1 2013, representing a decrease of 31%.
  
  
• Cash operating margin¹ Q1 2014 of $15.81 per silver equivalent ounce compared with $25.33 in Q1 2013.
  
• Average cash costs¹ in Q1 2014 were $4.12 and $381 per ounce of silver and gold, respectively. On a silver equivalent basis, average cash costs¹ rose to $4.57 compared with $4.39 in Q1 2013.
  
  
• Declared quarterly dividend of $0.07 per common share. On March 20, 2014, the Company announced that it will be implementing a dividend reinvestment plan whereby shareholders can elect to have dividends reinvested directly into additional Silver Wheaton common shares.  The plan will be effective commencing with this quarter's dividend, which will be distributed on or about May 30, 2014.
  
  
• On March 26, 2014, the Company paid $125 million to Hudbay Minerals Inc. ("Hudbay") in satisfaction of the final upfront payment relative to the silver stream on the Constancia project.

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1 Please refer to non-IFRS measures at the end of this press release.

"Silver Wheaton started the year on a strong note, achieving production of 9.0 million silver equivalent ounces in the first quarter of 2014. Production and sales increased, 8% and 17% respectively, compared with the first quarter of 2013," said Randy Smallwood , President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Wheaton. "Furthermore, we maintained a very healthy cash operating margin of around 70% and operating cash flows of nearly $115 million, despite precious metal prices being down over 30% compared to a year ago. These numbers once again highlight one of the key strengths of our low-cost business model - that even in lower commodity price environments Silver Wheaton can generate some of the highest margins in the industry."

"This is an exciting year for Silver Wheaton as some of our key mining assets are expected to expand and come on line in 2014. During the first quarter, Primero's San Dimas mine completed an expansion from 2,150 to 2,500 tonnes per day, and we expect the true impact of this expansion to be fully realized by Silver Wheaton in 2015 and beyond. Furthermore, towards the end of the first quarter, we made the final payment for the silver stream on Hudbay's Constancia project, where production is expected to begin by the end of 2014. In addition, Vale's Totten mine in Sudbury, which commenced production in the first quarter, is now adding to the gold production we have already been receiving from five of Vale's other mines in Sudbury. Moreover, the expansion of Vale's Salobo mine continues to progress and remains on track to be commissioned in the middle of this year. All things considered, we see 2014 as a step forward for Silver Wheaton as these core assets continue to grow, adding significantly to our growth profile in 2015 and beyond."

Financial Review

Revenues

Revenue was $165.4 million in the first quarter of 2014, on silver equivalent sales of 8.1 million ounces (6.2 million ounces of silver and 30,100 ounces of gold). This represents a 20% decrease from the $205.8 million of revenue generated in the first quarter of 2013, due primarily to a 31% decrease in the average realized silver equivalent price ($20.38 in Q1 2014 compared to $29.72 in Q1 2013), partially offset by a 17% increase in the number of silver equivalent ounces sold.

Costs and Expenses

Average cash costs1 in the first quarter of 2014 were $4.57 per silver equivalent ounce as compared to $4.39 during the comparable period of 2013. This resulted in a cash operating margin1 of $15.81 per silver equivalent ounce, a reduction of 38% as compared to Q1 2013. The decrease in the cash operating margin was due to a 31% decrease in the silver equivalent price realized in Q1 2014 compared to Q1 2013.

Cash costs rose year over year primarily due to an increase in gold sales (30,100 ounces in Q1 2014 compared to 16,900 ounces in Q1 2013) associated with Vale S.A.'s ("Vale") Sudbury and Salobo mines. The average cash cost per gold ounce1 was $381, or $6.06 per silver equivalent ounce2.

Earnings and Operating Cash Flows

Net earnings and cash flow from operations in the first quarter of 2014 were $79.8 million ($0.22 per share) and $114.8 million ($0.32 per share¹), compared with $133.4 million ($0.38 per share) and $165.6 million ($0.47 per share¹) for the same period in 2013, a decrease of 40% and 31%, respectively. Earnings and cash flow continued to be impacted by lower gold and silver prices.

Balance Sheet

At March 31, 2014, the Company had approximately $82.0 million of cash on hand. The combination of cash and ongoing operating cash flows, combined with the credit available under the Company's $1 billion Revolving Facility, positions the Company well to fund all outstanding commitments as well as provide flexibility to acquire additional accretive precious metal stream interests.

In accordance with the provisions of the Company's US$1 billion non-revolving term loan ("NRT Loan"), Silver Wheaton has extended the term of the NRT Loan by one year to May 28, 2017. As of March 31, 2014, Silver Wheaton had $1 billion outstanding under the NRT Loan.

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1 Please refer to non-IFRS measures at the end of this press release.
2 Cash cost per silver equivalent ounce calculated using a gold to silver ratio based on either (i) the ratio of the average silver price received to the average gold price received during the period from the assets that produce both gold and silver; or (ii) the ratio of the price of silver to the price of gold on the date of sale as per the London Bullion Metal Exchange for the assets which produce only gold.

Operational and Development Highlights

During the first quarter of 2014, attributable silver equivalent production was 9.0 million ounces (6.9 million ounces of silver and 33,800 ounces of gold), representing an increase of 8% compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Operational highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, are as follows:

San Dimas -

As per Primero Mining Corp.'s ("Primero") first quarter 2014 Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), the expansion of the San Dimas mine from 2,150 tonnes per day ("tpd") to 2,500 tpd was completed during the first quarter of 2014.  Throughput in the first quarter averaged 2,422 tpd. In addition, Primero also indicated that recoveries are expected to improve in the second quarter 2014 with the completion of an additional leaching tank and additional thickener. Primero continues to review the option to further expand the San Dimas mine to 3,000 tpd.

Peñasquito-

As stated in Goldcorp Inc.'s ("Goldcorp") first quarter 2014 MD&A, permitting for the Northern Well Field project, which will add 25 new production wells, has been delayed due to unanticipated additional regulatory requirements related to the interconnection with the existing well fields, securing surface land access rights, and additional permitting requirements by the environmental authority. Goldcorp now expects construction to begin during mid-2014 with completion expected around mid-2015. Contingency plans have been developed for fresh water production at the mine to ensure plant production continues as planned. The long term tailings study continued on schedule this quarter with results still expected in the second quarter of 2014.

Goldcorp has indicated that Peñasquito's exploration drilling program continued in the first quarter of 2014, resulting in a total of 6,334 metres drilled. The exploration program continues to define the intersection of the copper-gold sulphide rich skarn ore body and porphyry deposit located below and adjacent to the diatreme ore body. In addition to exploration, Goldcorp is investigating the potential for producing a saleable copper concentrate at Peñasquito as well as assessing the viability of leaching a pyrite concentrate from the zinc flotation tailings. Successful implementation of one or both of these new process improvements has the potential to significantly improve the overall economics and add to the mineral reserves of Peñasquito. As highlighted in Goldcorp's Investor Day presentation on April 10, 2014, these initiatives, if successfully implemented, could also result in an additional 4 to 5 million ounces of silver dore production per year (or 1 to 1.25 million ounces net to Silver Wheaton).

Salobo -

As per Vale's first quarter 2014 MD&A, the expansion of the mill throughput capacity at the Salobo mine to 24 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") from its current 12 Mtpa reached 97% physical completion in the first quarter of 2014. The expansion is expected to come on stream in the second quarter of this year.

Sudbury -

As per Vale's February 21, 2014 news release, Vale officially opened the Totten mine during the first quarter of 2014. Vale stated that the mine is expected to ramp up to full production in 2016 and process 2,200 tons per day of ore containing copper, nickel and precious metals for approximately 20 years.

Constancia -

As per Hudbay's first quarter 2014 MD&A, the Constancia project in Peru remains on track for initial production in the fourth quarter of 2014 and commercial production in the second quarter of 2015. Hudbay has incurred $1.2 billion in costs as of March 31, 2014, and the project is now over 71% complete. As per the agreement with Hudbay, in the first quarter Silver Wheaton paid Hudbay the final payment of $125 million in connection with the silver stream on the Constancia Project as Hudbay's total expenditures related to Constancia reached $1 billion.  An additional $135 million1 relative to the gold stream on Constancia will be paid to Hudbay once $1.35 billion in capital expenditures has been incurred on Constancia.

Produced But Not Yet Delivered2-

Payable silver equivalent ounces produced but not yet delivered to Silver Wheaton by its partners increased by 0.1 million ounces to approximately 6.3 million silver equivalent payable ounces at March 31, 2014, primarily as a result of an increase related to the 777 mine largely offset by a decrease related to the Yauliyacu mine.

Detailed mine by mine production and sales figures can be found in the Appendix to this press release and in Silver Wheaton's MD&A in the 'Results of Operations and Operational Review' section.

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1 Silver Wheaton has the option to make the $135 million payment in either cash or Silver Wheaton shares, calculated with the number of shares determined at the time the payment is made.

2 Payable silver equivalent ounces produced but not yet delivered are based on management estimates, and may be updated in future periods as additional information is received.

Webcast and Conference Call Details

A conference call will be held Friday, May 9, 2014, starting at 11:00 am (Eastern Time) to discuss these results. To participate in the live call, please use one of the following methods:

Participants should dial in five to ten minutes before the call.

The conference call will be recorded. You can listen to an archive of the call by one of the following methods:

About Silver Wheaton

Silver Wheaton is the largest precious metals streaming company in the world. Based upon its current agreements, forecast 2014 annual attributable production is approximately 36 million silver equivalent ounces1 including 155,000 ounces of gold. By 2018, annual attributable production is anticipated to increase significantly to approximately 48 million silver equivalent ounces1, including 250,000 ounces of gold. This growth is driven by the Company's portfolio of low-cost and long-life assets, including precious metal and gold streams on Hudbay's Constancia project and Vale's Salobo and Sudbury mines.

This earnings release should be read in conjunction with Silver Wheaton's MD&A and unaudited Financial Statements, which are available on the Company's website at www.silverwheaton.com and have been posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

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1 Silver equivalent production forecast assumes a gold/silver ratio of 60:1.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS
The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.  Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of silver or gold, 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, reserve conversion rates, statements as to any future dividends, the ability to fund outstanding commitments and continue to acquire accretive precious metal stream interests and assessments of the impact and resolution of various legal and tax matters.  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 statements 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, operations, 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: fluctuations in the price of silver or gold; the absence of control over mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver or gold and risks related to these mining operations including risks related to fluctuations in the price of the primary commodities mined at such operations, actual results of mining and exploration activities, environmental, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which the mining operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations; and the Company's interpretation of, or compliance with, tax laws, is found to be incorrect; as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business - Risk Factors" in Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and in Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.  Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued operation of the mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver and gold, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, that the mining operations will operate and the mining projects will be completed in accordance with their public statements and achieve their stated production outcomes, the continuing ability to fund or obtain funding for outstanding commitments, the ability to source and obtain accretive precious metal stream interests, expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters, that Silver Wheaton will be successful in challenging any reassessment by the Canada Revenue Agency and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein.  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 forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary.  Silver Wheaton does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included or incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING RESERVES AND RESOURCES
For further information on Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources and on Silver Wheaton more generally, readers should refer to Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2013, and other continuous disclosure documents filed by Silver Wheaton since January 1, 2014, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Silver Wheaton's Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are subject to the qualifications and notes set forth therein. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: The information contained herein uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated" and "Inferred" Mineral Resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them and expressly prohibits U.S. registered companies from including such terms in their filings with the SEC. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves or that any exploration potential will ever be converted to any category of Mineral Reserves or Mineral Resources. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.  United States investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F, a copy of which may be obtained from Silver Wheaton or from http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

1) Equity settled stock based compensation (a non-cash item) included in
general and administrative expenses.

Results of Operations (unaudited)

The Company currently has nine reportable operating segments: the silver produced by the San Dimas, Yauliyacu, Peñasquito and Barrick mines, the gold produced by the 777, Sudbury and Salobo mines, the silver and gold produced by the Other mines and corporate operations.

Non-IFRS Measures

Silver Wheaton has included, throughout this document, certain non-IFRS performance measures, including (i) operating cash flow per share (basic and diluted); (ii) average cash costs of silver and gold on a per ounce basis; and (iii) cash operating margin.

These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and other companies may calculate these measures differently.  The presentation of these non-IFRS measures is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. For more detailed information, please refer to Silver Wheaton's Management Discussion and Analysis available on the Company's website at www.silverwheaton.com and posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Silver Wheaton Corp.