Press Release
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PRESS RELEASE Banro Announces Year End 2016 Financial Results Toronto, Canada – April 3, 2017 – Banro Corporation ("Banro" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT - "BAA"; TSX - "BAA") today announced its financial and operating results for the full year 2016 and fourth quarter 2016. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Record 2016 revenue of $228 million, a 46% increase over 2015 ($157 million) Gross earnings from operations of $22 million 2016 EBITDA of $62 million Stakeholder approvals, with support of over 90% of votes cast, received for Recapitalization transactions OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS 2016 annual gold production of 197,691 ounces Twangiza produced 104,438 ounces of gold in 2016; 26,395 ounces in Q4 2016 Namoya produced 93,253 ounces of gold in 2016; 24,054 ounces in Q4 2016 191,966 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of $1,190 per ounce (135,391 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of $1,157 per ounce in 2015) 2016 consolidated cash costs per ounce of gold of $761, in line with guidance All dollar amounts in this press release are expressed in thousands of dollars and, unless otherwise specified, in United States dollars. ''We are pleased with the overwhelming support from our stakeholders in the approval of the Company’s Recapitalization, that we expect to be implemented in the coming weeks,” commented Banro CEO and President John Clarke. “With the ongoing support of our stakeholders, we expect to continue to increase the performance of both Twangiza and Namoya.” (I) FINANCIAL Effective January 1, 2016, commercial production was declared at Namoya. As such, the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016, reflect the activity of both Twangiza and Namoya while the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015, reflect the activity of only Twangiza. The table below provides a summary of financial and operating results for the three months and years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, as well as the three months ended September 30, 2016: Change Change Q4 2016 Q4 2015 Q3 2016 2016 2015 % % Selected Financial Data Operating revenues 54,692 34,606 58% 67,465 228,346 156,710 46% Total mine operating expenses1 (53,377) (25,232) 112% (56,085) (205,912) (100,665) 105% Gross earnings from operations 1,315 9,374 (86%) 11,380 22,434 56,045 (60%) Net loss (9,654) (19,446) (50%) (4,658) (50,932) (73,543) (31%) EBITDA 9,720 11,922 (18%) 23,871 62,154 68,268 (9%) Basic net (loss)/earnings per share ($/share) (0.03) (0.08) (63%) (0.02) (0.17) (0.29) (41%) Key Operating Statistics Average gold price received ($/oz) 1,163 1,106 5% 1,266 1,190 1,157 3% Gold sales (oz) 47,034 31,303 50% 53,284 191,966 135,391 42% Gold production (oz) 50,449 30,440 66% 53,377 197,691 135,532 46% All-in sustaining cost per ounce ($/oz) – mine site 973 745 31% 869 900 657 37% Cash cost per ounce ($/oz) 811 601 35% 734 761 553 38% Gold margin ($/oz) 352 505 (30%) 532 429 604 (29%) Financial Position Cash including restricted cash 11,373 2,262 19,566 11,373 2,262 Gold bullion inventory at market value2 10,550 2,398 7,169 10,550 2,398 Total assets 897,940 871,731 898,754 897,940 871,731 Long term debt - current and non-current 206,479 168,127 204,543 206,479 168,127 (1) Includes depletion and depreciation. (2) This represents 9,207 ounces of gold bullion inventory shown at December 31, 2016 closing market price of $1,146 per ounce of gold. Operating revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $228,346, 46% higher compared to the prior year of $156,710. During 2016, ounces of gold sold increased by 42% to 191,966 ounces compared to sales of 135,391 ounces during 2015 due to the contribution of sales from Namoya partially offset by lower production at Twangiza. The average gold price per ounce sold during 2016 was $1,190, comparable to an average price of $1,157 per ounce obtained during 2015. The average gold price per ounce was lower than the average spot gold price during 2016 as a result of lower implied prices for stream revenues recognized. Mine operating expenses, including depletion and depreciation, for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $205,912, compared to the prior year of $100,665. The increase is a result of the operating expenses attributable to Namoya which were treated as capitalized development costs throughout 2015. With the contribution of two operating mines, the $105,247 increase in mine operating expenses attributable to production costs and depletion and depreciation, were $71,001 and $34,246, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2016. Gross earnings from operations for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $22,434, compared to $56,045 for the prior year period. The 46% increase in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 was more than offset by 105% increase in mine operating expenses as a result of the contribution from two mines. Consolidated EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $62,154 compared to $68,268 for 2015, reflecting the lower production levels at Twangiza offset by the contribution from 2 Namoya. Consolidated EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was $9,720, a decrease from $23,871 for the three months ended September 30, 2016 due to lower production levels at both the Twangiza and Namoya mines. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016 of $50,932, was driven by finance expenses of $45,693 and non-cash items totaling approximately $8,591, relating primarily to fair value losses on mark-to-market derivative liabilities such as the gold forward sale agreements and preferred shares, due to improvements in the gold price environment. Cash costs per ounce sold for the fourth quarter of 2016 were $811, 35% higher than $601 for the prior year period. The increase in cash costs are mainly due to the strong performance from Twangiza during 2015 when production levels exceeded expectations resulting in significant benefits in unit costs and Namoya being under development in 2015. With Namoya in production, cash costs per ounce on a sales basis for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $761 per ounce of gold, in line with guidance of $700 to $800 per ounce of gold, representing a 38% increase from $553 per ounce of gold for the year ended December 31, 2015. Mine site all-in sustaining costs for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $900 per ounce (compared to $657 per ounce of gold for the year ended December 31, 2015) driven by higher cash costs and higher levels of sustaining capital expenditures per ounce. Mine site all-in sustaining costs for the fourth quarter of 2016 were $973 per ounce of gold (compared to $745 per ounce of gold in 2015) due to higher cash costs and higher levels of sustaining capital expenditures per ounce. (II) OPERATIONAL - TWANGIZA During 2016, Twangiza experienced 1 loss time injury (“LTI”) relating to employees and 3 LTIs relating to contractors. During 2016, the plant at the Twangiza Mine processed 1,673,178 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.71 g/t Au (compared to 1,714,593 tonnes of ore at 3.03 g/t Au during 2015). The process recovery during 2016 was 72.7% (compared to 80.9% during 2015) to produce 104,438 ounces of gold (compared to 135,532 during 2015). Recoveries at Twangiza during the year were driven by the blend of ore type based on the available mining faces. (III) OPERATIONAL – NAMOYA During 2016, Namoya experienced no LTIs relating to employees and 1 LTI relating to contractors. During 2016, the plant at the Namoya Mine stacked 2,209,212 tonnes of ore (compared to 1,416,156 tonnes during 2015). Namoya stacking levels increased from commercial production levels at the beginning of the year to design capacity levels during the second half of 2016. The head grade of ore stacked during 2016 was 1.89 g/t Au (compared to 1.88 g/t Au during 2015). Namoya produced 93,253 ounces of gold during 2016 (compared to 47,837 ounces of gold 2015). (IV) EXPLORATION 3 During 2016, exploration activities were limited to low level regional exploration and continued preparation for increased activity levels focusing on near mine exploration. (V) CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT In February 2016, the Company closed a $67,500 gold streaming transaction relating to the Twangiza mine (the “Twangiza Transaction”) with RFW Banro Investments Limited (“RFWB”), a subsidiary of the Baiyin Stream Partnership I, LP, (a mining investment fund managed by Resources FinanceWorks Limited), a $22,500 term loan (“Term Loan”) funded by RFWB and investment funds managed by Gramercy Funds Management LLC (“Gramercy”), and an $8,750 equity private placement to RFWB. With the closing of these transactions, the Company set aside restricted funds for the remaining three interest payments under the Company’s outstanding senior secured notes (the “Notes”). The Twangiza Transaction provided for the payment by the purchaser of a deposit in the amount of $67,500 and the delivery to the purchaser over time of a certain percentage (the “Entitlement Percentage”) of the life-of-mine gold production (effective January 1, 2016) from the Twangiza mine, or any other projects located within 20 kilometres from the current Twangiza gold mine, based on the gold price at the time of delivery.