Special "Investing in Gold Companies"
Edition of The Wall Street Transcript
04:25 p.m Dec 22, 1998 Eastern
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22,
1998--Leading analysts examine the Gold industry in
the just-published edition of The Wall Street Transcript,
a vital review for investors and companies.
1) An in-depth roundtable forum featuring five
prominent analysts: Gil Atzmon of U.S. Global
Investors, Victor Flores of HSBC Securities, Felix
Freeman of Scotia Capital, Peter Palmedo of Sun
Valley Gold Company, and Borden Putnam of Robert
Stevens Investment Management. The panel discusses
South African gold companies, acquisitions and
alliances, supply and demand factors, access to capital,
and the recent inability of gold to sustain a level above
$300. Atzmon states, "We should not forget that all
commodity prices are very weak right now, oil being
one of the leaders." Responding to dire predictions for
worldwide production following the drop below $300,
Flores asserts, "What's more interesting is the reaction
of the producers to the lower gold price, which has
been to react very quickly and cut costs very credibly.
And that's the reason why production has actually
stayed where it is or has in fact only increased slightly
with respect to last year, even though we've had a
significant drop in the gold price."
On industry consolidation, Freeman declares, "It's
definitely got to continue. It's been surprising and
extremely frustrating that it hasn't happened already.
The reasons tend to be very much personality issues
and doubts about the quality of projects, especially
among the juniors, a syndrome of 'my kid's prettier than
your kid.'"
Other topics addressed by this distinguished panel:
M&A trends, "fallen companies," business models,
management concerns, stock performance, increasing
marketplace internationalization, the outlook for
Homestake (NYSE:HM), stock valuations, investment
criteria, and the future outlook for the sector.
The panel offers several investment recommendations,
including: Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Iamgold
(Toronto:IMG.TO), and Francisco Gold
(Vancouver:FGX.V), about which Palmedo states, "It's
a classic late-stage development property which has a
meaningful amount of potential production,
250,000-300,000 ounces a year, at production costs
that are estimated to be close to $100 per ounce. It has
a current market capitalization of less than U.S. $100
million, with $25 million cash and no debt."
2) An "Off-the-Record" survey of analysts and industry
experts, who praise and/or criticize 15 Gold companies
and managements, includes several recommendations
and a few admonishments. Praise for Jack Thompson
of Homestake (NYSE:HM) for "actually doing an
excellent job. In fact, he's probably shown the most
improvement amongst any of those seniors, and still has
a lot of plans going forward."
An ovation for Bill Nettles at Stillwater Mining
(AMEX:SWC) because "He's got the company firing
on all cylinders. They're doing very, very well."
But, another Gold CEO disappoints experts who say
"They're in the Hall of Shame for going back to
revolving management."
Other companies mentioned in this special 30-page
Gold section include: Agnico-Eagle Mines
(NYSE:AEM), Anglo-American (Nasdaq:AAGIY),
Anglogold (NYSE:AU), Ashanti (NYSE:ASL), Avgold
(OTC:AVGLY), Battle Mountain Gold (NYSE:BMG),
Dayton (AMEX:DAY), Durban Deeps
(Nasdaq:DROOY), Echo Bay (AMEX:ECO),
Eldorado (Toronto:ELD.TO), Euro-Nevada
(Toronto:EN.TO), Franco-Nevada (Toronto:FN.TO),
Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX),
Getchell Gold (AMEX:GGO), Gitennes
(Toronto:GIT.TO), Glamis Gold (NYSE:GLG), Great
Central Mines (Nasdaq:GTCMY), Greenstone
Resources (Nasdaq:GRERF), Harmony
(Nasdaq:HGMCY), Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC), Lihir
Gold (Nasdaq:LIHRY), Meridian (NYSE:MDG),
Minorco (Nasdaq:MNRCY), Newcrest Mining ADR
(OTC:NWCMY), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM),
Normandy Mining (Toronto:NDY.TO), Placer Dome
(NYSE:PDG), Prime Resources (AMEX:PRU),
Rayrock (Toronto:RAY.TO), Royal Oak Mines
(AMEX:RYO), Samax (Toronto:SMX), Sutton
(Nasdaq:STTZF), TVX (NYSE:TVX), William
Resources (Toronto:WIM.TO), and Yamana
(Toronto:YRI.TO).
For information on how to obtain a copy of this issue,
see twst.com or call (212) 952 -
7433. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the
views of any interviewee nor does it make stock
recommendations.
The Wall Street Transcript is a premier weekly
investment publication serving serious long-term
investors for over 35 years. The Transcript publishes
industry roundtables and interviews with Wall Street
analysts, money managers, and company CEOs, and is
read by top money managers, brokers, and individual
investors.
Copyright 1998, Business Wire |
