Royal Gold Inc Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : Great, thanks, Bill, and team for the conference call. Maybe my first question is on your asset handbook, and thanks once again for publishing an asset handbook. I found it very helpful. Especially this year, I see that you've included the -- your operators or the different operators' multiyear production outlook for your assets. I guess one of the major requests from investors has always been for a long-term guidance from Royal Gold. I know you won't be giving one out. However, maybe Bill, walk us through how we can use this new information in the 2024 asset handbook to help us build our own sort of near-term and long-term kind of growth profile.

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : Yeah. I think it helps. And then maybe my next question is on the corporate development end. And you've been active. You've made a number of sort of changes or increases in existing assets within your portfolio. Xavantina, we touched on it Back River. So is that where you're seeing some of the key opportunities? Or you've done Cactus as well so that's a completely new asset. So could you maybe talk about the opportunity set? Is it mostly coming from current assets or are there new opportunities coming from new assets as well? Maybe talk about that landscape.

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : Great. Maybe one last question then on taxes. God, I love taxes. But on taxes, there was a discrete tax item in the quarter, $13.7 million. Just want to confirm that's a sort of onetime benefit or onetime item. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 08, 2025 / 4:00PM, RGLD.OQ - Q1 2025 Royal Gold Inc Earnings Call And then if you can remind us, as you mentioned, if I were to exclude that benefit, it would be 19.4% effective tax rate. Could you remind us what we -- what the guidance was for the percentage for the full year and toward tax expense? And for that, should we factor in the 19.4% as part of that calculation for the full year? Or should we use the other number that's without -- or with the discrete tax benefit?

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : You don't want to answer that question?

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : Okay.

Question: Cosmos Chiu - CIBC World Markets - Analyst : Got you. Great. Thanks, Bill and team and those are the questions I have. Thank you.

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Great, good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for taking my questions got voted off an island on a previous call, so really appreciate it. I do have a few questions. Can I just start on the quarterly basis? I know on the previous conference call, we talked about how the year shapes up with REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 08, 2025 / 4:00PM, RGLD.OQ - Q1 2025 Royal Gold Inc Earnings Call each a stronger second half versus first half. Is that still the case from a production, a GEO sales standpoint? I understand the pricing, it depends on pricing. But generally, on the asset basis, is that what we should expect?

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. And when I -- stronger second half, do we have a strong Q4, like everybody else does? I'm just trying to understand.

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. No, I appreciate that. But as you know it today, that's sort of how you would see it pan out with a stronger Q4, assuming the timing is delivered as you expect? Okay. And then the other, just one other on just on the modeling side. Just on the payments for 2025 that you have out there. Can you just remind me, Paul, just sort of payments, I saw $58 million was paid in Q1. Can you just remind me, I just want to make sure I have all the payments that you have in the public domain right now that needs to go through your cash flow statement this year.

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. So just the one that came through Q1?

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay, perfect. Thank you for that. Just wanted to check. And then before getting to the transactions, and I'm getting that, Pueblo Viejo, just on Barrick's call yesterday. It seems like they got the Pueblo Viejo back up again and the throughput is moving higher. Gold recovery is supposed to be picking up not so much Q3. Q2, Q3, but into Q4. They don't talk about the silver circuit. So can someone just bring me up to speed on the silver circuit? What are you expecting there? And then just remind me on the silver deferrals of what's outstanding. And should this circuit be operational, let's say, Q1 of next year, how do we see that silver deferral come through for you? Thank you.

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : And how should I be thinking about all the accumulation of this deferred silver and how it starts coming through on the -- on your revenue side? Should I be thinking all of this deferral to be sort of taking two years to sort of get through the system? How should I be thinking about it?

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. All right. Okay, all right. Just every day, keep thinking about the silver circuit. Maybe moving on to the M&A side. I'm just -- I've kind of seen a bit of a shift in what's available out there in the transaction market just from some of your peers. And I just wanted to understand whether you're seeing a similar thing in terms of opportunities for yourself. One of the opportunities has -- brought to my attention has been that the base metal companies are coming forward where they haven't previously with maybe some balance sheet repair, given the weaker commodity prices there and some larger streams. Are you seeing that as well? Number one.

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. And I was also told that there are some other opportunities as well in the gold space above and beyond just the normal mine build, in the primary metal that there is obviously some more asset sales beyond the Newmont stuff and maybe more M&A opportunities as well. And also what I found is that the size has moved up significantly up to the $1 billion range. And I know last quarter, we talked about the $100 million to $300 million range for you. Has your range of what opportunities you're seeing changed from that $100 million to $300 million? (multiple speakers)

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. It just seems that there's been a shift that it's moved up into a larger range, and I just didn't understand whether you're seeing those ones as well. Majority of yours are in the $100 million to $300 million range, is that how I should be thinking about it?

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. And then lastly, with everything shifting around, valuation shifting around, how does corporate transaction fit in for you versus just normal asset transaction?

Question: Tanya Jackusk - Scotia Bank - Analyst : Okay. Just it seems that the overall market has had a shift in the quarter to just a different type of opportunity. So look forward to seeing that. I think it will be quite active. And thank you also for the asset handbook. We do find it very useful.

Question: Derick Martin - TD Cowen - Analyst : Thank you. If MMG moves forward with a full construction decision at Khoemacau with the expansion. Could you give us a sense of what the correlation between the copper and silver grades are, the two deposits that fall within the area of interest and how that might impact the stream?

Question: Derick Martin - TD Cowen - Analyst : No, that's fine, thank you. I appreciate that. That's all for me.