05:33 PM EST, 02/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Centerra Gold ( CGAU ) was at last look up 2.7% in New York after-hours trade as its production guidance reflects Oksut returning to normal production levels, and it saw an initial resource at Goldfield.

This, at least for now, appears to have helped investors overcome news that Centerra's loss nearly doubled in the fourth quarter on production near the low end of the guidance range for the full year.

The company said it lost US$52.5 million, or $US0.25 per share, in the quarter, compared to a loss of $28.8 million, or US$0.13.

Adjusted earnings, excluding most one-time items, fell to US$36.6 million or US$0.17, from US$61.2 million or US$0.28. Centerra said adjustments include US$193.6 million of non-cash impairment loss related to the Goldfield Project, US$63.1 million of an incremental gain on the sale of Greenstone Partnership and US$33.9 million of an unrealized gain on a financial asset related to the additional agreement with Royal Gold.

On operations, gold production in the period was 73,224 ounces, including 37,660 ounces from the Mount Milligan Mine and 35,564 ounces from the Oksut Mine. Copper production in the quarter was 12.8-million pounds. Full year production was 368,104 ounces of gold, near the low end of the guidance range, including production of 167,579 ounces of gold from Mount Milligan and 200,525 ounces of gold from Oksu. Copper production for the full year was 54.3-million pounds, near the low end of the production guidance range.

Separately, Centerra also released 2024 year-end estimates for mineral reserves and mineral resources. Proven and probable gold reserves were 3.5-million ounces and proven and probable copper reserves were 1.15-million pounds. Measured and indicated gold mineral resources were 6.8-million ounces at year end, which includes the initial gold mineral resource at the Goldfield Project of 706,000 ounces.

Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of C$0.07 per share, payable on March 27, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 13.

Chief executive Paul Tomory said, "In the fourth quarter, we had steady gold and copper production and ended 2024 near the low end of our production guidance range. At Oksut, we benefited from elevated production in 2024 by processing inventory that was accumulated during the shutdown in 2022 and 2023 to achieve over 200,000 ounces. Since the restart of operations in June 2023, Oksut generated close to $550 million in cash provided from operations and over $480 million in free cash flow. We generated strong free cash flow at both operations in the fourth quarter, driven by robust contributions from Mount Milligan, which increased our cash and cash equivalents to $625 million. We ended the year with a strong cash balance even after returning close to $90 million to shareholders and initiating capital spending at Thompson Creek, which remains on track with the feasibility study."

Tomoy added: "Looking ahead to 2025, our production guidance reflects Oksut returning to normal production levels, as previously planned, after two years of processing excess inventory, which in turn has impacted unit costs. We remain disciplined to protect margins through initiatives at our sites including at Mount Milligan through the site optimization program which will continue in 2025. We forecast continued strong free cash flow generation at our operations in 2025, allowing us to fund the restart of Thompson Creek and continue to return capital to shareholders, while preserving our cash for strategic opportunities."

Centerra shares closed up $0.24 to $9.41 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.