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Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: WPM) (TSX: WPM)

 

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: WPM) (TSX: WPM) is one of the largest precious metals streaming companies in the world. It generates revenue primarily from the sale of precious metals and cobalt while offering investors cost predictability, direct leverage to increasing precious metals prices and a high-quality asset base.

Wheaton seeks to be the world's premier precious metals investment vehicle, delivering value through streaming to all stakeholders. The company has entered into agreements to purchase all or a portion of the precious metals or cobalt production from high quality mines for an upfront payment and an additional payment upon delivery of the metal. By crystallizing value for precious metals yet to be produced, Wheaton works with its partners to unlock and create value.

Wheaton currently has streaming agreements for 18 operating mines and 27 development stage projects. The company's production profile is driven by a portfolio of low cost, long-life assets, including a gold stream on Vale's Salobo mine and a silver stream on Newmont's Penasquito mine.

With its portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets, Wheaton's business model offers investors exposure to commodity prices and exploration upside with a much lower risk profile than a traditional mining company. Wheaton delivers among the highest cash operating margins in the mining industry, allowing it to pay a competitive dividend and continue to grow through accretive acquisitions. As a result, Wheaton has consistently outperformed gold and silver, as well as other mining investments.

The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Wheaton is committed to strong ESG practices and giving back to the communities in which its mining partners operate.

Business Model

The company's 18 operating mines and 27 development projects in North, Central and South America; Australia; Europe and Africa produce gold, silver, palladium, platinum and cobalt.

Wheaton's streaming advantage comes from investing in high quality assets with predictable production costs. As of July 2024, 93% of Wheaton's current production comes from high margin mines operating in the lower half of their respective cost curves.

The company has contractually defined cost-per-ounce production agreements protecting it from inflationary cost pressures. This cost predictability, with delivery payments per ounce predetermined, translates into direct exposure to potential increases in precious metal prices, providing investors with some of the highest sustainable margins in the industry.

The company has entered into precious metals purchase agreements with 32 different mining companies for the purchase of precious metals and cobalt relating to 18 operating mining assets, in addition to 23 at various stages of development and four that have been placed in care and maintenance or have been closed. These mining assets are located across 16 countries.

Wheaton acquires mine production from its partners generally at or below the prevailing market price. The primary drivers of the company's financial results are the volume of metal production at the various mining assets to which the precious metal purchase agreements relate and the price realized by Wheaton upon sale of the metals it receives.

Wheaton is actively pursuing future growth opportunities, primarily by way of entering into additional precious metal purchase agreements.

Market Opportunity

The World Gold Council, the industry association for the world's gold producers, estimated in 2023 the physical financial gold market, which is made up of bars, coins, gold ETFs and central bank reserves, is worth nearly $5 trillion. The council reports that gold mine production adds approximately 3,500 tons of the precious metal to the world's supply annually, equivalent to about 2% growth.

This historical scarcity and relatively slow production of new supply, as compared to other commodities, is a primary reason gold has retained its value for millennia, according to the council. In July 2024, the market price of gold was approximately $2,450 per ounce.

The Silver Institute, the association of the silver industry, reported in April 2024 that silver use in industrial applications set a new record high in 2023 at 654.4 million ounces (Moz). This figure excludes silver used in production of jewelry or in ornamental and decorative applications.

The institute reported that demand exceeded silver supply in 2023 for the third consecutive year, resulting in a structural market deficit of 184.3 Moz. Production of photovoltaic (solar energy) equipment is now the largest industrial use of the metal and is expected to continue its strong growth trend. In July 2024, the market price of silver was just over $29 per ounce.

Management Team

The company has an experienced management team with a strong track record of success and is well positioned for further growth.

Randy Smallwood is President and CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals and a Director. He previously served as the company's Executive Vice President of Corporate Development. Prior to Wheaton Precious Metals, he was the Director of Project Development at Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. He formerly served on the boards of several resource companies including Defiance Silver, Ventana Gold, Castle Peak Resources and Tigray Resources. He holds a geological engineering degree from the University of British Columbia and a mine engineering diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Gary Brown is Senior Vice-President and CFO of Wheaton Precious Metals. He previously was CFO of TIR Systems Ltd. and has also held senior finance roles with CAE Inc., Westcoast Energy Inc. and Creo Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience in finance and holds professional designations as a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Waterloo.

Haytham Hodaly is Senior Vice-President of Corporate Development of Wheaton Precious Metals. He previously spent more than 16 years in the North American securities industry. Prior to that, he held the position of co-director of research and senior mining analyst at Salman Partners Inc. He is an engineer with a bachelor's degree of applied science in mining and mineral processing engineering and a Master of Engineering, specializing in mineral economics, both from the University of British Columbia.

Investment Considerations

  • Wheaton announced Q1 2024 net income of $164 million, or $0.362 per share, on revenue of $297 million, an increase of 38.4% over the same period one year earlier.
  • The company in June 2024 paid shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per common share
  • Wheaton announced 2023 production results of 374,585 ounces of gold and 17,220 ounces of silver, with actual sales of 327,336 and 14,326 ounces, respectively.
  • In February 2024, the company forecast its mining production will increase by approximately 40% over the next five years primarily due to growth from operating projects.
  • Wheaton was ranked among 2024's '100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World' by Corporate Knights.

 

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