Floated in may '08 at a share price of 525p. Shares in issue Dec '08 717,160,000.
Based in Mexico & listed on the LSE FTSE 250 index. (FTSE100 March '09)
Miner of Gold, silver, Zinc & Lead in Mexico
Produces approx 3m Oz silver, 280k Oz gold, 20k tons Zinc, 17k tons lead p.a.(2008)
Fresnillo has three producing mines, all of them in Mexico - Fresnillo, Ci�nega and Herradura; two advanced development projects - Fresnillo II, Soledad & Dipolos; and three exploration prospects - San Juan, San Julian, Orysivo, as well as a number of other long term exploration prospects and, in total, has mining concessions covering approximately 1.3 million hectares in Mexico.
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StockMarketWire.com
Fresnillo reports record annual attributable gold production of 473,034 ounces for 2012.

This is up 5.4% year on year and exceeds the full-year target of 460,000 ounces.

The company says this was mainly due to the successful first year of operations at Noche Buena and continuous ramp-up at Saucito.

Annual attributable silver production was 41Moz, (including 4.0Moz from the Silverstream), which was in line with guidance.

Fresnillo said the ramp-up at Saucito offset the anticipated natural decrease in silver ore grade at the Fresnillo mine.

Taken a bit of a slapping today, but recovering to only 2.5% down now.

Financial results for the year ended 31 December 2012

Fresnillo plc today announced the financial results for the full year to 31 December 2012 and Octavio Alvídrez, CEO said:

"Our performance over a year of volatile silver prices has illustrated how strong our business model is. Operationally we met our guidance for 2012 and we are pleased that EBITDA margins have remained amongst the strongest in the industry at 60%. Our model is structured to deliver a balance between growth and returns, and our track record of delivering profitable growth, investing in our future and returning cash to shareholders, has continued over the year under review.

We are focused on low cost, high return operations and continue to invest throughout the cycles to ensure the sustainability of our business. Looking ahead, we are excited about the strength of the growth pipeline, and the four exploration projects we have highlighted today illustrate some of the many opportunities for future growth."

2012 Highlights

Maintaining operational excellence
· Record gold and stable silver production reflect positive impact of project delivery and debottlenecking mining district consolidation
· Focus on efficiency gains and cost control reinforce company position in lower quartile of production cost curve
· Noche Buena brought on stream on time and on budget

Managing the portfolio to maximise value
· Short-term mine plans adopted to reflect a changing metal price environment
· We reacted to the anticipated declining grades at Fresnillo by increasing ore volumes and ramping-up production from Saucito.
· Initiated new production at Noche Buena and increased ore volume processed at Ciénega and Herradura
· Margins lower but remain best in class

Focus on capital discipline
· Capital is allocated in a disciplined manner based on low cost and high return projects that follow our strategy of consolidating districts
· Construction commenced at San Julián silver mine
· US$318.9m capital invested in exploration in 2012 which resulted in a double digit increase in both resources and reserves
· US$434.7m in CAPEX mainly invested in new projects with high rates of return.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4553084

StockMarketWire.com
Deutsche Bank has downgraded its recommendation on Fresnillo (LON:FRES) to "sell" from "hold" in a research note to investors on Tuesday, March 19th. The City broker has lowered its price target on the gold and silver miner to 1,300 pence per share from 1,705 pence. Broker Forecasts consensus data shows that 36 per cent of brokers now have a "sell" recommendation on the stock versus 18 per cent which rate the shares as a "buy".

"Fresnillo remains a good company, with quality management and high margin assets. However, we think the stock is already pricing in a near perfect delivery of their medium-term growth prospects. Furthermore the stock is also pricing in a recovery in metal prices from current levels, and whilst we remain constructive on both gold and silver, the combination of perfect delivery and rising prices means the risk-reward is skewed to the downside in our view. Near-term headwinds of flattish production over the near term, the likely introduction of a Mexican Royalty and an equity issuance to meet free float requirements, means the premium versus peers could shrink. Sell.
Our price target of £13.0/share is based on c.1.40x NAV, which is a premium to peers due to the company’s track record for delivery, but is at the bottom end of the company’s recent trading history given the headwinds facing the company over the next year. Our NAV is based on life-of-mine cash flows, using a long-term gold price of US$1025/oz and a silver price of US$17.00, and a WACC of 6.4%. The key risks on the upside are higher silver and gold prices compared to our expectations. The imposition of a Mexican royalty tax in 2014, as we have in our numbers, may be delayed once more."

Looks like 1300p should be good support from the charts. Since getting out at 2000p I have been watching these and will buy back if they drop to near 1300p.

Decided to buy a few of these for the longer term, now on support levels from before 2011. Had considered POG with a similar yield, but it has been in decline since 2011 while Fres has been up and down a few times since then and is more volatile (maybe better gains) if things start going right for precious metals. Not very scientific but seems to fit into the buy low, sell high strategy. Also looking at LSIL for a leveraged play on silver, although it may be a bit too early to go long yet. Any views? H

RBC note today:
"Our View: We believe that Fresnillo's low cost production, strongest balance sheet in the industry, capital return and project delivery record make it the best defensive pick in the falling gold price environment. Upgrading to Outperform.
Guidance confirmed, production in line - Fresnillo produced 10.1 Moz of silver (inclusive of Silverstream) and 117 koz of gold, which was broadly in line with our expectations of 10 Moz of silver and 122 koz of gold. Silver production increased 3% from Q1 2012, while gold production was down 3% from the same period. The company reiterated its 2013 annual guidance of 41 Moz of silver and 490 koz of gold.
Lowest cost producer, balance sheet strength, CAPEX flexibility - Based on our estimates Fresnillo's sustaining all-in cash costs are US$900/ oz of gold equivalent on average in 2012-2015E. This, combined with one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry (US$612m at end of FY2012), and ability to defer and optimize its project pipeline make Fresnillo best insulated in the falling metal price environment.
Our target price of £18.00 (unchanged) reflects a 50:50 blend of 1.5x P/NAV (unchanged) and 14.0x P/CF (unchanged), on our 2014 estimates. Fresnillo has historically traded at a premium to other peer silver producers, reflecting a significant growth profile and a history of operating outperformance."

Thanks Harry, the RBC note reflects and adds to my basic reseach. My longer term turned out to be only half a morning, got out with a 10% loss but only had a few. If this hangs around the 1100p mark for a few days, I will probably have another go at a longer term holding. H

Going Ex Divi paying a rather nice 27.8p, but with commodities not flavour of the month the SP recovery time is uncertain. Anyone going for the Divi here at all?

SP up straight away. Would have been a very short term profitable trade.. Oh well.

Fresnillo plc ("Fresnillo" or the "Company") announces that it has agreed to issue 19,633,430 new ordinary shares of US$0.50 each (the "Placing Shares") representing approximately 2.74 per cent. of the number of existing shares of the Company (the "Placing") to funds and accounts managed by First Eagle Investment Management LLC (the "Placees") who are existing shareholders in the Company.

The Placing will ensure that Fresnillo plc is compliant with changes to the Ground Rules of the FTSE UK Index Series that require constituents to maintain a minimum free float of 25% or more.

The proceeds of the Placing will be used for general corporate purposes and the Company's working capital needs.

The Placees have agreed to subscribe for the Placing Shares at a price of £11.30 per Placing Share, a 1.99% discount to the closing price at Friday 26th of April.

Up another couple of %

I think Fres has a lot more chance of recovery than POG. Although the chart still looks pretty poor, relatively it has outperformed POG over the past year and has a 4% yield. Have added a little more to my modest position in Fres. Still nowhere clear that a bottom is in, waiting for gold to get to around $1150 before adding again.

Interims out today. http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4645582

RBC note today on the expected extra tax to be levied:
"Negative outcome relative to our expectation – We had previously expected a 5% EBITDA based royalty with a small per hectare fee for explorers. The proposed tax appears to be a 0.5% revenue based royalty and a 7.5% EBITDA royalty. In aggregate we believe that this will likely be equivalent to a 4.5% to 5% revenue based royalty based on Fresnillo’s cost structure. The government may also introduce a 10% tax on the distribution of profits to shareholders outside of Mexico. Fresnillo’s management have indicated that they believe that the tax is likely to be finalized by the end of October in time for inclusion in the country’s 2014 budget. The proposed legislation would need to pass through both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. At present most of the major parties in Mexico appear to support the new royalty aside from the right of centre National Action Party, (PAN).
The impact of the new royalty system would be negative for FRES and we have adjusted our numbers to reflect its likely impact. Our NAV has declined from 978p to 907p and we have also pulled back our 2014E and 2015E EPS to 70cps and 87cps cps from 75cps and 93cps respectively. We retain our Sector Perform rating but pull back our target price from 1300p to 1200p on unchanged multiples of 1.5x P/NAV and 14.0x P/CF, on our 2014 estimates. Fresnillo has historically traded at a premium to other peer silver producers reflecting a significant growth profile and a history of operating outperformance. Over the short term the shares could benefit from the results of the GDX reweighting, which should be announced on Friday 13th September."

Big faller here.

500p support.

Still no support.

Another new low.

StockMarketWire.com
Fresnillo's pre-tax profits tumbled by 64.4% in the year to the end of December to $418.7m.

Fresnillo says its results were hit by a combination of lower precious metals prices, the lower gold production which arose from the legal dispute surrounding explosives permits at the Minera Penmont operations, and the non-cash loss generated by the Silverstream revaluation.

It says that as a result, revenues fell by 25.1% to $1,615.2m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 44.5% to $729.8m. Chief executive Octavio Alvídrez said: "Fresnillo continued to deliver on its strategic priorities in 2013, despite a challenging external environment for the mining industry and disrupted operations at Minera Penmont. We achieved silver production that was ahead of our targets and made significant progress on a number of our development projects, with the dynamic leaching plant at Herradura being concluded and construction continuing at Saucito II and San Julian.

"Gold production declined as a result of the legal proceedings which halted operations at Soledad-Dipolos and, triggered the suspension of the use of explosives at Herradura. This, combined with lower precious metals prices, impacted our financial results. Nevertheless, our cost reduction initiatives, extensive exploration efforts and focus on operational excellence means we remain well placed to continue to create value for our stakeholders through the cycle as evidenced by today's recommendation of the special dividend. We look forward to making further progress towards our long-term goals in 2014."

Cazenove note today:
"P&L below forecast: reported revenue of $1,615m was 1% below JPMe due to higher than expected TC/RCs. EBITDA of $730m came in 7% below JPMe due to higher than expected costs, primarily at Herradura due to the disruption caused by the suspension of its explosives permit. Working down the P&L, higher than expected D&A and tax expenses were offset by lower than expected minority interests and SilverStream revaluation effects, leaving reported EPS of 32.9 UScps, 8% below JPMe and 9% below company-compiled consensus. Underlying EPS of 38.1 UScps, excluding SilverStream, was, however, 19% below JPMe and 21% below consensus.
Cashflow performance solid: operating cashflow of $452m (including net interest) came in 13% below of our forecast, but was offset by lower than anticipated capex of $572m vs JPMe of $688m, implying better than expected free cash flow of c. -$120.0m vs JPMe of -$179.2m. Net cash of $415.5m was therefore higher than our $356.7m forecast, supporting FRES’ decision to pay a surprise $50.1m special dividend in addition to the $165m extraordinary dividend paid on 11th November and the interim dividend of $36.1m, and bringing the total DPS paid in respect of 2013 to 35.1 UScps vs JPMe 27.3 UScps.
Project update: the high-returning $235m Saucito II project “advanced rapidly as a result of efficient execution and infrastructure synergies”, with FRES now guiding to construction completion by end 2014 vs mid-2015 previously. However, start-up of the San Julian project has been delayed by ~12 months from Q4 2014 to H2 2015 as the company now plans to build a reservoir to complement ground water supplies. The total capex for the project has also increased marginally to $515m vs $500m previously.
Outlook: 2014 production guidance of 43Moz silver (including SilverStream) and 450koz gold is unchanged vs the targets given at Q4 production results, with last week’s receipt of a new explosives permit at Herradura allowing the company to re-confirm its targets. No specific has been set at $225m (JPMe $222m) including $30m capitalized exploration expenditures, while capex guidance has been set at $642m, including capitalized exploration, vs JPMe of $816m, reflecting the deferral of the San Julian development. Operating cost targets have been given with the company expecting “continued cost pressures, mainly in energy, operating materials and labour” offset by ongoing cost control initiatives."