First Majestic Silver Corp (AG) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the First Majestic Silver 2024 production financial results and 2025 guidance conference call. (Operator instructions) The conference is being recorded. (Operator instructions)

感謝您的支持。我是會議主持人。歡迎參加 First Majestic Silver 2024 年生產財務表現和 2025 年指導電話會議。（操作員指令）會議正在錄音。（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Keith Neumeyer, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Majestic Silver. Keith, please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給 First Majestic Silver 總裁兼執行長 Keith Neumeyer 先生。基思，請繼續。

Well, thank you, and welcome to everyone joining our call today to discuss the Q4 and year-end results and, of course, guidance as well, which is put out recently. Before I get into our discussion, I'm just going to pass the call over to Samir Patel, our General Counsel, who will read our disclaimer.

好的，謝謝大家，歡迎大家參加今天的電話會議，討論第四季和年終業績，當然還有最近發布的指導。在我開始討論之前，我要把電話轉給我們的總法律顧問薩米爾·帕特爾 (Samir Patel)，他將宣讀我們的免責聲明。

Thanks, Keith. Before we begin today's call, I would like to remind you that we will be referring to certain non-IFRS measures and making certain statements regarding First Majestic Silver and its operations that constitute forward-looking statements in accordance to applicable Canadian and US securities laws.

謝謝，基斯。在我們開始今天的電話會議之前，我想提醒您，我們將參考某些非國際財務報告準則的措施，並就 First Majestic Silver 及其營運做出某些聲明，這些聲明根據適用的加拿大和美國證券法構成前瞻性聲明。

All statements that are not historical facts, such as statements regarding future estimates and plans or expectations of future performance constitute forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to future events. These statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.

所有非歷史事實的陳述，例如有關未來估計和計劃或對未來表現的預期的陳述，均構成前瞻性陳述，反映了公司對未來事件的當前看法。這些聲明必然基於一系列假設和估計，儘管公司認為這些假設和估計是合理的，但它們本質上仍受重大商業、經濟、競爭、政治和社會不確定性和偶然性的影響。

We encourage you to refer to the cautionary language included in our news release that was disseminated earlier this morning and the disclosure on non-IFRS measures in our most recently filed management discussion analysis, as well as the risk factors set after in our most recently filed annual information form.

我們鼓勵您參考我們今天早上發布的新聞稿中的警示性語言、我們最近提交的管理層討論分析中關於非國際財務報告準則措施的披露，以及我們最近提交的年度資訊表中列出的風險因素。

As a reminder, these documents, along with all of our continuous disclosure documents are available under the company's profile on both SEDAR plus and on EDGAR. Investors are cautioned against distributing undue certainty or reliance on any forward-looking statements made during today's call. And the company does not attempt or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by law. With that, I will turn the call back to Keith.

提醒一下，這些文件以及我們所有的持續揭露文件都可以在 SEDAR plus 和 EDGAR 上的公司資料下找到。告誡投資者不要對今天電話會議上的任何前瞻性陳述抱持過度的確定性或依賴性。除法律要求外，本公司不嘗試或承擔更新這些前瞻性聲明或資訊的任何義務。說完這些，我就把電話轉回給基斯。

Thanks, Samir. In addition to Samir and myself, Keith Neumeyer, CEO and Founder, on the phone today, we have Mani Alkhafaji, who is our VP, Corporate Development, Steve Holmes, our Chief Operating Officer. We also have Darrell Rae and Joel Faltinsky -- sorry, Joel, online as well who run IR.

謝謝，薩米爾。除了 Samir 和我自己、執行長兼創辦人 Keith Neumeyer 之外，今天透過電話聯繫的還有我們的企業發展副總裁 Mani Alkhafaji 和營運長 Steve Holmes。我們還有 Darrell Rae 和 Joel Faltinsky——抱歉，是 Joel，他們也在線，負責 IR。

So just getting into the quarter, nice to see the stock up today. For those out there, we've been monitoring the shares. Obviously, we created quite a liquidity event for Gatos' shareholders. They went from a very illiquid stock to obviously quite a liquid vehicle that trades tens of millions of shares a day. And I think it's created a situation where some investors have decided to pare down their positions.

剛剛進入本季度，很高興看到今天股價上漲。對於那些在那裡的人，我們一直在監控股票。顯然，我們為 Gatos 的股東創造了相當大的流動性事件。他們從一隻流動性極差的股票變成了一隻流動性相當強的投資工具，每天交易量達數千萬股。我認為這導致了一些投資者決定削減其持倉的情況。

Unfortunately, and it's put some undue pressure on First Majestic's stock and that has created our underperformance over the last couple of weeks since closing. It does take time to get through that. And I think the news release site today or news release in the future when we get actually one number out, which will be pretty fantastic, including the Gatos transaction, and Q2 will be a full quarter of all mines producing.

不幸的是，這給 First Majestic 的股票帶來了一些不必要的壓力，並導致我們自收盤以來的過去幾週表現不佳。解決這個問題確實需要時間。我認為在今天的新聞發佈網站或未來的新聞發布會上，當我們真正得到一個數字時，這將是非常棒的，包括 Gatos 交易，第二季度將是所有礦山生產的整個季度。

It will be pretty interesting in 2025 as the year evolves. But just focusing on the news release and then in Q4 in 2024, we had record cash flow in Q4. I'm not going to go through -- usually, I read it all out to you for -- $68 million and in our cash flow, pretty significant, amazing safety record, all-time low reportable loss incidents. We met our 2024 guidance, 21.7 million ounces of silver equivalent production. And always the same cost at $21.11.

隨著年份的演變，2025 年將會非常有趣。但僅關注新聞稿，然後在 2024 年第四季度，我們在第四季度的現金流創下了紀錄。我不會一一贅述——通常，我會把所有內容都讀給你聽——6800 萬美元，而且我們的現金流相當可觀，安全記錄驚人，可報告損失事件數量創歷史新低。我們實現了 2024 年的預期，即 2,170 萬盎司白銀當量產量。並且費用始終相同，為 21.11 美元。

We had record production in Santa Elena for the first time ever, breaking through 10 million ounces of production, which is really nice to see. It got closed in 2023, but in 2024, it actually broke through 10 million ounces, which is obviously a pretty good situation. We ended the year with a very, very strong cash balance of $308 million and then $364 million in liquidity. That does not include Gatos by the way.

我們聖埃琳娜的產量首次創下紀錄，突破了 1000 萬盎司，這真是令人高興。2023年就關閉了，但是2024年居然突破了1000萬盎司，這顯然是一個相當不錯的情況。截至今年底，我們的現金餘額非常強勁，達到 3.08 億美元，流動資金達到 3.64 億美元。順便說一句，這不包括 Gatos。

This is -- for those out there, if you're wondering, that number will be released, obviously, as a result of our end of Q1, but we're in a very, very strong cash position and a very strong balance sheet, which is very nice to see. Cash costs were down by 8% compared to Q1 versus Q4. Share buyback program has been in place.

如果您對此感到好奇，那麼這個數字顯然會在第一季末公佈，但我們的現金狀況非常強勁，資產負債表也非常強勁，這令人欣喜。與第一季相比，第四季的現金成本下降了 8%。股票回購計畫已經實施。

In the news release, we did show that we bought back 50,000 shares. But that was only basically just in December. That share buyback program's continued through January and into February, and we expect to continue that program. These share prices has been ridiculous in our opinion, any way. So we'll continue that program.

在新聞稿中，我們確實表明我們回購了50,000股。但那基本上只是在 12 月。股票回購計劃已持續整個一月和二月，我們預計將繼續該計劃。無論如何，我們認為這些股價都是荒謬的。因此我們將繼續該計劃。

We have the Navidad announcement and the San Dimas announcements that have come out over the last few months regarding our exploration programs, both of those operations, Navidad being at Santa Elena, for those who don't know, but discoveries continue at Santa Elena, which is always a pretty nice situation. And we look at Los Gatos, it was almost a look like asset; Los Gatos being 103,000 hectares in size and Santa Elena being 102,000 hectares in size.

過去幾個月，我們發布了有關勘探計劃的 Navidad 公告和 San Dimas 公告，對於那些不知道的人來說，這兩項作業都在聖埃琳娜進行，但聖埃琳娜的發現仍在繼續，這始終是一個非常好的情況。我們看看洛斯加托斯，它幾乎看起來像一項資產；洛斯加托斯面積為 103,000 公頃，聖埃琳娜面積為 102,000 公頃。

And these are two very large chunky land packages, et cetera, that have exploration upside that is hard to measure if it's -- both of these operations have mine lives currently of close to 10 years, and it's a nice place to be to have three assets, including San Dimas that have long mine lives and we don't have to be concerned about -- oh well, we're miners so we're always consider on mining more ounces, but it's nice to have three solid assets in our portfolio.

這兩個非常大的土地組合等等，具有難以衡量的勘探潛力——這兩個項目的礦山壽命目前都接近 10 年，擁有三項資產是一個不錯的選擇，包括擁有較長礦山壽命的 San Dimas，我們不必擔心——哦，好吧，我們是礦工，所以我們總是考慮開採更多的金礦，但在我們的投資組合中擁有三項穩固的資產是一件好事。

The mint has done well. We have a great Q4 at the mint, as you can see in the news release today. Over $9 million in revenue from the mint, all those are profitable ounces, which is a fun and neat part of our business and something that is growing and something that we're looking to extend going forward.

薄荷的生長狀況良好。正如您在今天的新聞發布會上看到的，我們的造幣廠第四季度業績十分出色。鑄幣廠的收入超過 900 萬美元，所有這些都是有利可圖的，這是我們業務中一個有趣而整潔的部分，而且正在不斷發展，我們希望在未來繼續擴大。

Our production increase, we put our guidance out, so you can see in our guidance that we're guiding around $29 million, that's the midpoint for 2025 or so equivalent. And about 53% of that is silver, about 30-some-odd percent is gold and the rest is in the form of lead and zinc. And the costs are looking to improve as well.

我們的產量增加了，我們給出了指導，因此您可以在我們的指導中看到，我們的指導金額約為 2900 萬美元，這是 2025 年左右的中點。其中約 53% 是銀，約 30% 是金，其餘的是鉛和鋅。而且成本也有望改善。

We've got a very, very large exploration program planned for 2025. We got close to our target in 2024. I think we had a plan of doing about 220,000 meters in 2024. We got about 180,000 completed, which is nice. We'll be updating our AIS in March, which will show the changes in resources, which we look forward to seeing.

我們計劃在 2025 年實施一項非常大規模的勘探計畫。2024 年我們已經接近目標了。我認為我們計劃在 2024 年完成約 220,000 公尺。我們完成了大約 180,000 個，這很好。我們將在三月更新我們的 AIS，其中將顯示資源的變化，我們期待看到這些變化。

But in 2025, we're actually planning to drill about 270,000 meters of drilling. It's a pretty darn big program. And then, of course, a big focus for the next several months is integrating Gatos. So we went from 4,100 employees to 5,300 employees. There are a lot of similarities in what we do, but there's also some differences.

但在2025年，我們實際上計劃鑽探約27萬公尺。這是一個相當龐大的項目。當然，接下來幾個月的重點就是整合 Gatos。因此，我們的員工人數從 4,100 人增加到了 5,300 人。我們所做的事情有很多相似之處，但也存在一些不同之處。

And these synergies or this whole merger, it does take time. Different technologies have to merge together and it does take time. There's cost effectiveness, and that will occur as well in a variety of different departments. And so we're looking to take advantage of some of the synergies to bring our cost down throughout the business, and we're looking forward to working on that over the next couple of quarters and there's plan in place to do exactly that thing. So look forward to good news going forward on the Gatos acquisition.

這些協同效應或整個合併確實需要時間。不同的技術必須融合在一起，這確實需要時間。這具有成本效益，並且也會在各個不同的部門中實現。因此，我們希望利用一些協同效應來降低整個業務的成本，我們期待在接下來的幾個季度內努力實現這一目標，並且已經制定了計劃來實現這一目標。因此，期待 Gatos 收購案的好消息。

And that's really it for me. So why don't we go to questions, if there are any.

對我來說，這真的就是這樣了。那麼，如果有問題的話，我們為什麼不去回答呢？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Heiko Ihle, H.C. Wainwright.

Heiko Ihle、H.C. Wainwright。

It's nice to see the stock a little bit green today. It's good to see. Looking back at the cost guidance that was published last week, you've got property plant and equipment, sustaining capital at $51 million. The peso is obviously at 20.4 as of this morning when I wrote this up. That got me thinking, what kind of long-term exchange rate, even past 2025 an inflation factor is spent on all of this?

很高興看到今天的股票有點上漲。很高興看到。回顧上週發布的成本指南，您擁有財產、廠房和設備，維持資本為 5,100 萬美元。當我今天早上寫這篇文章時，比索匯率顯然是 20.4。這讓我想到，什麼樣的長期匯率，甚至 2025 年以後的通膨因素都會影響這一切？

And more generally, what are you seeing with pricing for equipment down in Mexico? And maybe building on all of that, what are you seeing in regards to inflation in general?

更普遍地說，您看到墨西哥的設備價格下降了嗎？那麼，基於以上這些，您對通貨膨脹的整體情況有何看法？

Well, thanks, Heiko, and nice hearing from you and thanks for having the question for us. I'm going to pass that question on to Steve.

好吧，謝謝你，Heiko，很高興收到你的來信，也謝謝你向我們提出這個問題。我要把這個問題轉達給史蒂夫。

Okay. Thanks, Keith. So right now, our guidance for next year, we're using a 19.5:1 ratio on the peso, so we're in good shape there. As far as inflation factors, what we're seeing is about a 4% to 4.5% general inflation rate. And we worked pretty hard on our programs to offset that inflation rate and the impact of the peso from last year.

好的。謝謝，基斯。因此，目前，我們對明年的指導是使用 19.5:1 的比索比率，因此我們的狀況良好。就通膨因素而言，我們看到的總體通膨率約為 4% 至 4.5%。我們非常努力地實施計劃來抵消通貨膨脹率和去年比索的影響。

So we don't anticipate seeing any unusual inflation that might come from, say, government policy applications north of the border and those types of things. But that's the basis for our guidance.

因此，我們預計不會出現任何異常通貨膨脹，例如來自邊境以北政府政策應用等因素。但這是我們指導的基礎。

Fair enough. And then a completely different question. Can you provide some color on your longer-term margin expectations for the first mint? I mean I assume it to scale reasonably well because at some point, all the equipment is there and you're putting in silver at x and selling it at whatever, 1.5 times x. I mean, can you maybe just provide some color on what you think you'll see maybe later this year and next, even if you thought that far ahead?

很公平。然後是一個完全不同的問題。您能否提供一些關於第一批鑄幣廠的長期保證金預期？我的意思是，我認為它的規模相當大，因為在某個時候，所有的設備都在那裡，你以 x 的價格投入白銀，然後以 x 的 1.5 倍的價格出售。我的意思是，您能否提供一些關於您認為今年晚些時候和明年會看到什麼的情況，即使您考慮得那麼遠？

Well, regarding the mint, capital is still being spent up until really September, October of 2024. So we were still purchasing machines, and I wouldn't say it was really up and running until really September and October. We had an inaugural celebration where everyone showed up and officially cut the ribbon and so on in September. So it has been operating since March. And we've just -- we've been hiring people, putting the right people in place and it's going -- it's a young business.

嗯，關於鑄幣廠，資金實際上仍在花費，直到 2024 年 9 月或 10 月。因此我們仍在購買機器，直到九月和十月我才真正開始運作。我們於九月舉行了就職慶典，所有人都出席並正式剪彩等。所以它從三月就開始運作了。我們一直在招募員工，安排合適的人員，這是一家年輕的企業。

The business is actually -- it kind of only reached its one year anniversary next month. It's hard to expect to see major profits in such new business. But it is doing quite well. where our ounces are generally being sold for about $3 over spot. So we do have a cost of those ounces.

這項業務實際上—下個月就將迎來一周年紀念日。很難指望在這樣的新業務中獲得巨額利潤。但情況相當不錯。我們的每盎司售價通常比現貨高出約 3 美元。所以我們確實有這些盎司的成本。

We have to get them out. It's our ounces coming from San Dimas that go through [Sahi] for refining, which has a small cost there. And then of those 1,000 ounce commercial bars get [almond cart] up to Las Vegas into the mint, where it gets converted into a variety of different products and sold into the marketplace between $3 to $5 cost above spot, depending on the different -- some products are produced with limited quantities, like the Trump bar is only -- I think we only produced 2,400 of them. The 1776 model, we only produced 1,776 of them.

我們必須把他們救出來。我們從聖迪馬斯運來的黃金要經過 [Sahi] 進行精煉，那裡的精煉成本很低。然後，這些 1,000 盎司的商業巧克力棒會被運送到拉斯維加斯的造幣廠，在那裡被加工成各種不同的產品，然後以高於現貨價格 3 到 5 美元的價格在市場上出售，具體價格取決於不同——有些產品的產量有限，比如特朗普巧克力棒——我想我們只生產了 2,400 塊。1776 年型號，我們只生產了 1,776 輛。

So those types of special runs, we charge $5 over spot, and they sell quite well. So the Lunar series, the Snake just came out, the Dragon came out a couple of months ago a little bit late in the year, we worked on after quite some time, unfortunately, but it finally came out. And there's no limited run on that, and we'll just keep making them as they sell but it's doing quite well.

因此，對於這些類型的特價商品，我們會收取 5 美元的現貨費，而且銷量很好。因此，《農曆》系列中的《蛇》剛剛問世，《龍》在幾個月前就問世了，時間稍晚一些，不幸的是，我們花了很長時間才完成，但它終於問世了。而且這種產品沒有限量生產，只要賣出去我們就會繼續生產，但目前銷售量還不錯。

Buffalo has come along quite nicely as well. And there's a couple of other products. So there are three additional products that will be released in 2025. We got about I think about 5% of our total overall production through the mint in 2024, showing -- with those types of margins. Our goal in 2025 is to get 10% of our total production through the mint, and we hope to continue to grow that year after year.

布法羅也表現得相當不錯。還有其他一些產品。因此，2025 年將發表另外三款產品。我認為，到 2024 年，透過鑄幣廠獲得的產量將佔總產量的 5% 左右，顯示出這樣的利潤率。我們的目標是，到 2025 年，透過鑄幣廠實現總產量的 10%，並且我們希望這一目標能夠逐年持續成長。

Fair enough. Yes, I was on the website earlier today, and they do a great job displaying the Freedom Bar and the 20th anniversary runs being almost sold out, so that's pretty cool.

很公平。是的，我今天早些時候訪問過該網站，他們很好地展示了自由酒吧和 20 週年紀念版的門票幾乎全部售罄，這非常酷。

Anyways, I'll get back with you. Thanks for taking my questions.

無論如何，我會回來找你。感謝您回答我的問題。

Charles Ottoman, Scotiabank.

查爾斯·奧斯曼，加拿大豐業銀行。

Thanks for taking my question. I am (inaudible) I'm just asking on behalf of Ovais. My first question would be, how should we weight production on CapEx within the first half and second half of the year? Are you expecting it to be flattish before the closing of the Gatos acquisition? I know that's supposed to impact some production at CLG but bond beyond that, should we expect like a flattish production for this year?

感謝您回答我的問題。我（聽不清楚）我只是代表 Ovais 詢問。我的第一個問題是，我們該如何權衡上半年和下半年的資本支出產量？您是否預計在 Gatos 收購完成之前它會持平？我知道這應該會影響 CLG 的一些產量，但除此之外，我們是否應該預期今年的產量會持平？

I had a hard time understanding the question. Mani, do you want to jump on that one?

我很難理解這個問題。瑪尼，你想跳上去嗎？

Yes. Chris, maybe just -- or sorry, Charles, repeat the question, if you don't mind? We didn't hear it clearly.

是的。克里斯，也許只是——或者抱歉，查爾斯，如果你不介意的話，請重複這個問題？我們沒聽清楚。

Okay. Sure. I'm asking, how do you expect production and CapEx to shake out in the first half and the second half of the year? Would it be flat? Or are you expecting higher on the second half or first half?

好的。當然。我想問的是，您預計今年上半年和下半年的生產和資本支出將如何變化？它會是平的嗎？或者您對下半年或上半年的期望更高？

Yes. So it will be relatively consistent, so H1 versus H2. Gatos is coming in early enough in the year, Jan 16 . So we don't have a lot of a lot of delays integrating it. So it's going to be relatively consistent.

是的。因此它將相對一致，所以 H1 與 H2 相對。Gatos 今年來得還早，1 月 16 日。因此我們在整合它時不會遇到太多延遲。所以它會相對一致。

Just generally, in Q4, our exploration program has vested well, so you'll probably see a bit of a drop off and Q4 from exploration program. But for the most part, it's relatively consistent Q-over-Q.

總體而言，在第四季度，我們的勘探計劃進展順利，因此您可能會看到第四季度的勘探計劃有所下降。但在大多數情況下，Q 與 Q 是相對一致的。

Okay. And just sticking with exploration here. Could you explain -- could you provide some details around what type of exploration work is being done at Jerritt Canyon?

好的。並繼續在此進行探索。您能解釋一下嗎——您能提供一些有關傑里特峽谷正在進行哪些類型的勘探工作的詳細資訊嗎？

Yes. So we have 18,000-meter program at Jerritt's. It's really going to go back and target some of the targets that we were hoping to get in 2024, but we were able to just do the delays in permits and the performance of the contractor. So we're getting ahead of that getting set up just in time to really kick it off right on time. It's got to be -- it's really greenfield exploration targeting areas that hasn't been explored before.

是的。因此我們在傑里特有 18,000 公尺的項目。這確實會回過頭去實現我們希望在 2024 年實現的一些目標，但我們只能推遲許可證的發放和承包商的履行。因此，我們提前做好準備，以便準時啟動。這肯定是——這確實是針對以前從未探索過的地區的綠地探索。

We have received the permits at the end of 2023, but really haven't an area that hasn't been explored. So that's going to be the focus in 2025 is go back and test those targets.

我們已於 2023 年底獲得了許可證，但實際上沒有一個區域尚未被探索過。因此，2025 年的重點將是回顧並測試這些目標。

Okay. And just on free cash flow. I mean, it's good to see the company generally had about record free cash flow in Q4. And I think just based on our estimates and what the current spot price is saying, we should expect this to continue. So how should we think about your capital allocation priorities? I mean moving forward basis?

好的。僅關注自由現金流。我的意思是，很高興看到公司第四季的自由現金流總體創下了歷史新高。我認為，僅根據我們的估計和當前現貨價格的情況，我們就應該預期這種情況將會持續下去。那我們應該如何考慮您的資本配置優先事項呢？我的意思是向前邁進？

I'll defer to Keith on the capital allocation. I know there's a lot of discussions internally, but we just thought -- our focus is obviously to strengthen the balance sheet, but I'll turn it to Keith on that one.

我將聽從 Keith 的資本配置意見。我知道內部有很多討論，但我們只是認為 - 我們的重點顯然是加強資產負債表，但在這一點上我會把它交給基斯。

Yes. We put our budget out already on our expected capital expenditures for 2025, and I don't expect that's going to change. I think we are exploration program is already pretty aggressive. Our development program is also pretty aggressive. I'd really like to see treasury growth.

是的。我們已經制定了 2025 年預期資本支出的預算，我預期這不會改變。我認為我們的探索計劃已經相當積極了。我們的開發計劃也相當積極。我真的很想看到財政成長。

And any extra capital that we that we're going to be gaining throughout the year. I want to see to go into the treasury. And if we end the year with $500 million in cash in the treasury, I think that's a pretty good place to be. I can see that happening.

以及我們全年將獲得的任何額外資本。我想看看能否進入國庫。如果我們到年底國庫中有 5 億美元現金，我認為這是一個相當不錯的數字。我可以看到這種情況正在發生。

Okay. Thank you. That, that's all for me.

好的。謝謝。對我來說，這就是全部了。

Don DeMarco, National Bank.

國家銀行的唐‧德馬科 (Don DeMarco)。

Thank you, operator, and Keith, congratulations to a strong quarter, positive free cash flow. And that gap in proposition on price of silver is higher, notably higher since the deal. So the outlook for silver remains bullish. When you look at the remaining single asset silver names out there, what are your strategies at this point with regard to M&A?

謝謝接線員和基思，恭喜本季業績強勁，自由現金流為正。而白銀價格上的差距越來越大，尤其是自交易達成以來。因此白銀的前景依然看好。當您查看剩餘的單一資產白銀名稱時，您目前在併購方面的策略是什麼？

Well, you guys are pretty close to the market. And thanks for your systems throughout the process as well. And we know all the players. We just had our Board meeting, our quarterly Board meeting just over the last couple of days. We've got a list of companies that we follow, and our due diligence team is made up of a handful of people that just follow the space, and we gobble up all the news that different companies put out and we absorb it all and put it all in Excel worksheets and we analyze everything and we categorize everything and a rate everything.

嗯，你們已經非常接近市場了。也感謝您在整個過程中提供的系統。我們認識所有球員。我們剛剛召開了董事會會議，也就是過去幾天舉行的季度董事會會議。我們有一份我們關注的公司名單，我們的盡職調查團隊由少數幾個關注該領域的人組成，我們會收集不同公司發布的所有新聞，並將其全部吸收並放入 Excel 工作表中，然後進行分析、分類和評級。

And -- but look, we just bought Gatos, right? There's the largest transaction over the history of the company. They're basically a $1 billion transaction it's going to take a couple of quarters to get it fully integrated into the business. There's a lot of work to do there. So I'd rather our teams and some of the integration team is some of the same team is doing the funding some of the M&A team partners some of the same team is in the integration.

而且——但你看，我們剛買了 Gatos，對吧？這是該公司史上最大的一筆交易。這基本上是一筆 10 億美元的交易，需要幾個季度才能完全融入業務。那裡有很多工作要做。所以我寧願我們的團隊和一些整合團隊中的一些人進行融資，一些併購團隊合作夥伴和一些整合團隊中的一些人進行整合。

So I'd rather our team focused on integration right now than worrying about other M&A. But there are names out there, and we've always got our eyes open, but it takes to the tangle. We're not in any rush to do another deal tomorrow.

所以我寧願我們的團隊現在專注於整合，而不是擔心其他併購。但名字已經擺在那裡，我們也一直保持警惕，但這卻帶來了混亂。我們並不急於明天再達成另一筆交易。

Okay. Thanks for that, Keith. Well, that's all for me and okay, good luck with Q1. Thanks a lot.

好的。謝謝你，基斯。好吧，我的就這些了，祝第一季好運。多謝。

[Chris Ewing], Private Investor.

[Chris Ewing]，私人投資者。

Congratulations on your good work here in your purchase of Gatos. So I was just wondering what silver price do you think that we will need until we get positive per share earnings. And a follow-up question would you ever consider in the future, maybe when we get in a good place with these different assets integrated in the First Majestic maybe looking at dividends for shareholders in the future?

恭喜您購買 Gatos 並取得良好效果。所以我只是想知道，您認為我們需要什麼樣的白銀價格才能獲得正的每股盈餘。未來您是否會考慮一個後續問題，也許當我們將這些不同的資產整合到 First Majestic 中並取得良好進展時，我們可能會考慮在未來為股東分紅？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Well, the company already pays dividend. You should know that we do that. It was announced in today's news release that the Board approved the dividend payment that dividend has been paid, I think, for over two years. I actually forget when we actually started it. When it comes to earnings, there's so much noise about earnings.

嗯，公司已經支付股利了。您應該知道我們這樣做。今天的新聞稿宣布董事會批准了股息支付，我認為股息已經支付了兩年多。我實際上忘記了我們什麼時候開始的。說到收益，關於收益的議論很多。

Like we put out EBITDA. We put out our cash flow. We put out our mine operating earnings. All those numbers are positive. When it comes to bottom line earnings, when you actually see on the bottom line, a negative number, unfortunately, there's just so much stuff that goes into that. And the biggest issue for us is the currency fluctuations.

就像我們公佈的 EBITDA 一樣。我們拿出了我們的現金流。我們公佈了礦山營運收益。所有這些數字都是正數。當談到底線收益時，當你真正看到底線是一個負數時，不幸的是，這其中涉及了太多的東西。對我們來說最大的問題是貨幣波動。

We have -- under IFRS, we have to carry this very, very large tax liability and it's in Mexican pesos. And every single quarter, the Mexican peso moves around, and it can change the bottom-line earnings number by significant amounts. And it is a little bit crazy. It's hard for investors to understand that. They look at it as a loss, but it's a movement in the value of the assets that are on our balance sheet.

根據國際財務報告準則，我們必須承擔非常大的稅務責任，而且是以墨西哥比索計算的。每個季度，墨西哥比索都會波動，這可能會對底線收益數字產生很大影響。這確實有點瘋狂。投資人很難理解這一點。他們將其視為損失，但這是我們資產負債表上資產價值的變動。

So we have something in the order of USD150 million worth of peso sitting on our books, and those pesos are used to run the business. And because we report in US dollars, those pesos move around, and then it creates a loss or a gain. And it can be quite different from one quarter to another. And it does create a ton of infusion.

因此，我們的帳面上有價值約 1.5 億美元的比索，這些比索用於經營業務。由於我們以美元報告，因此比索會波動，從而產生損失或收益。而且各季度的情況可能會大不相同。它確實會產生大量的輸液。

The Audit Committee has this discussion with our auditors who are Deloitte on a regular basis on what we can do about this. So there's really nothing we can do. It is just a fact of running a foreign business in Mexico, which is a volatile currency, and reporting in US dollars. And it's just a lot of our money, half of the money is US dollar type, our mining is in pesos.

審計委員會定期與我們的審計師德勤討論我們可以採取哪些措施。所以我們真的無能為力。這只是在墨西哥經營外國企業的事實，因為墨西哥的貨幣波動很大，而且要用美元來報告。這佔了我們很大一部分資金，其中一半是美元，我們的採礦是用比索進行的。

Well, we got Canadian dollars, of course, we got euros, of course, as well. But nevertheless, it's the pace that really drives this profit and loss number. And I'm not sure, Mani, if you want to jump in and comment any further.

嗯，當然，我們有加元，當然，我們也有歐元。但無論如何，真正決定盈虧數字的是速度。而且我不確定，Mani，你是否想加入並進一步發表評論。

No, that's pretty much it. It's really the tax losses pool that creates basically what's called a deferred income tax on our balance sheet, and that gets revalued every quarter. So when the peso weakens, it's great for us because it reduces our cost, so we'll start seeing our cash cost all-in sustaining and all that coming down. But the flip side is the balance sheet gets revalued and it triggers a noncash foreign exchange loss, and that ends up hitting the P&L, unfortunately, in this case, but it's a negative.

不，差不多就是這樣。事實上，稅收損失池在我們的資產負債表上產生了所謂的遞延所得稅，並且每季都會重新估價。因此，當比索貶值時，這對我們來說是件好事，因為它降低了我們的成本，所以我們將開始看到我們的現金成本全部維持在穩定水平，並且全部下降。但另一方面，資產負債表會被重新估價，並引發非現金外匯損失，不幸的是，這最終會影響損益表，但在這種情況下，這是負面的。

But to your earlier point, what silver prices needed for positive earnings, I do think we're -- this trend continues with Gatos coming in we'll have no problem really showing continuous improvement quarter-over-quarter, and yes, be on the lookout for Q1 and Q2.

但對於您之前提到的，白銀價格需要達到正收益，我確實認為我們會——隨著 Gatos 的加入，這種趨勢將繼續下去，我們肯定會逐季度持續改善，是的，請關注第一季度和第二季度。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

(Operator instructions) I will now pass the floor over to Mr. Darrell Rae, Investor Relations at First Majestic Silver to take us through the questions that have been submitted today through the webcast.

（操作員指示）現在，我將發言權交給 First Majestic Silver 投資者關係部的 Darrell Rae 先生，他將為我們解答今天透過網路直播提交的問題。

Thanks, Nick. So we have a couple, Keith, and to wrap up, and we'll get more questions from the line, if there are any, but we might wrap with these. So Keith what are your insights on how the current political landscape in Mexico might influence First Majestic Silver's operations and market position?

謝謝，尼克。因此，基思，我們有幾個問題要回答，如果有的話，我們會從線上收到更多問題，但我們可能會就這些問題結束。那麼，基思，你對墨西哥當前的政治格局如何影響 First Majestic Silver 的營運和市場地位有何看法？

Yes. I think going back a couple of years, I think we were pretty negative on what was going on in Mexico. The previous government was just really not helpful. A lot of headline news, a lot of rhetoric that was hitting the newspapers and very much just anti foreign investment, not so much mining per se. Mind you, you was talking about increasing taxes for miners and they did slow down the permitting process and thankful on this trust rated with many mining companies.

是的。我想回顧幾年前，我們對墨西哥發生的事情持相當消極的態度。前政府確實沒有提供任何幫助。很多頭條新聞、報紙上的很多言論都只是反對外國投資，而不是採礦本身。請注意，您正在談論增加礦工的稅收，他們確實放慢了許可程序，並感謝許多礦業公司對此的信任。

And -- but it was just basically a great kind of totalitarian and kind of anti-business type environment in Mexico for the last 5 years, which is quite unusual because when we put the company together, 21 years ago, Mexico is a pretty friendly place to be as a Canadian company. And we were able to build the business quite quickly just because of the regulatory environment in Mexico over that 15-year period and until this new government came in.

但在過去 5 年裡，墨西哥基本上處於一種極權主義和反商業的環境之中，這很不尋常，因為 21 年前我們成立公司時，對於一家加拿大公司來說，墨西哥是一個非常友好的地方。正是由於墨西哥在這 15 年期間以及直到新政府上台之前的監管環境，我們才能夠相當迅速地開展業務。

So now 21 years in, we've got a new government, Sheinbaum, Claudia Sheinbaum, she seems to be pretty open much more pragmatic, much more business-orientated saying a lot of the right things. It's only been a couple of months so it's hard to really point out any major events that are positive events that could be affecting the mining sector.

現在 21 年過去了，我們有了新政府，Sheinbaum，Claudia Sheinbaum，她似乎非常開放，更加務實，更加重視商業，說了很多正確的話。才過了幾個月，所以很難真正指出任何可能影響採礦業的重大正面事件。

But I can tell the people who are listening today that there are permits that are being granted. Several mining companies have received permits over the last month for a variety of different projects, and we're in line for a couple of permits as well, which are being told in getting as well. So the environment looks like it's changed a lot. So we're crossing our fingers that what we're hearing and what we're thinking is actually real and this current Mexican government has opened for business and open to foreign investment.

但我可以告訴今天聽眾，我們已經拿到了許可證。上個月，幾家礦業公司已經獲得了各種不同項目的許可證，我們也正在等待一些許可證，我們正在等待這些許可證。所以環境看起來已經發生了很大的變化。因此，我們祈禱我們所聽到的和所想的都是真的，並且墨西哥現任政府已經開放商業和外國投資。

And we did make a decision to buy Gatos for a reason. We're we've got 4 producing mines in Mexico, and then we've got 5,300 employees in the country. We've got a big stake in the country. And obviously, if we weren't as positive, we are about what the future is for Mexico, I don't think we have done a Gatos transaction.

我們確實有理由做出收購 Gatos 的決定。我們在墨西哥有 4 個生產礦場，在全國有 5,300 名員工。我們在這個國家有很大的利益。顯然，如果我們對墨西哥的未來不那麼樂觀，我認為我們就不會進行 Gatos 交易。

Thanks, Keith. There's one more question here. We're getting a few, but I'll put them all together. But one is, your general thoughts with gold hitting all-time highs, will silver catch up in time we could talk about this forever, Keith, but a little bit of outlook on the silver price and what might happen in the medium term?

謝謝，基斯。這裡還有一個問題。我們會得到一些，但我會把它們放在一起。但首先，你大致認為，隨著金價創下歷史新高，白銀價格會及時趕上嗎？我們可以永遠談論這個話題，基思，但對白銀價格和中期可能發生的情況有什麼展望？

Yes. Well, I get criticized constantly for my triple-digit silver call. So even recently, I just saw some throw some mud my way. But yes, it's -- look, I'm a big supply-demand fundamentalist and I think that supply/demand for silver is at a point where we're in multiple year deficits, and there's no reason why silver prices should not go higher. It's just a matter of time and -- there's obviously a lot of -- there's a huge paper derivative market that kind of drives the price, which drives me crazy and drives a lot of other silver bulls crazy as well.

是的。好吧，我經常因為我的三位數白銀通話而受到批評。所以直到最近，我仍然看到一些人對我進行誹謗。但是的，我是供需原教旨主義者，我認為白銀的供需已經處於多年赤字的階段，白銀價格沒有理由不走高。這只是時間問題，而且顯然有很多——有一個巨大的紙質衍生品市場推動著價格，這讓我抓狂，也讓很多其他白銀多頭抓狂。

These are the biggest banks in the world who have huge paper contracts in place that seem to be in the way of allowing silver to move to the prices should be at. And not that I don't like three silver, it's not a bad place to be. If you look at our lifetime, Silver has only been over $30, 3 times in my life, and they spent over $30 for a good part of 2024 and is holding ground quite nicely, and gold continue seems to continue to want to drive higher. So it's just -- silver will break out. And when it does, it's going to rattle these banks.

這些是世界上最大的銀行，它們擁有巨額紙質合同，似乎阻礙了白銀價格達到應有的水平。並不是說我不喜歡三銀，那不是一個糟糕的地方。如果你回顧我們的一生，你會發現，白銀價格只有 3 次超過 30 美元，而在 2024 年的大部分時間裡，白銀價格都超過了 30 美元，並且保持了相當好的勢頭，而黃金價格似乎還將繼續走高。所以這只是——白銀將會突破。一旦發生這種情況，這些銀行就會受到震動。

I'm sure we have the seed paper contracts, but that's just the way the market works.

我確信我們有種子紙合約，但這就是市場的運作方式。

And once we get through this $35, $38 range, I think are the two biggest resistant levels. It will slice through $40 and through $50 pretty quickly and I think it's going to be honestly triple digits. And is it going to happen in 2025? Well, I don't have a crystal ball, but it's something we're going to see, and I don't think it's that far away.

一旦我們突破 35 美元和 38 美元的區間，我認為這是兩個最大的阻力位。它將很快突破 40 美元和 50 美元，我認為它將真正達到三位數。2025 年會發生嗎？好吧，我沒有水晶球，但這是我們將會看到的東西，而且我認為它並不是那麼遙遠。

Okay. That was the final question from the webcast. Back to you, Nick.

好的。這是網路直播的最後一個問題。回到你身邊，尼克。

Thank you. Showing no further audio questions, this will conclude our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Keith for any closing remarks.

謝謝。沒有其他音訊問題，我們的問答環節將結束。我想將會議交還給 Keith 來做結束語。

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today. And obviously, this has been recorded and will be available on the website if anyone wants to have a listen to it later in their free time. But for those who are online, thanks a lot for joining us today. If there are any further questions or comments, please contact any of our staff, you all probably know Mani or Darrell or Joel, just any three of them are always available to chat with. So -- and we'll see the PDAC for those of you calling from Toronto. Have a great day.

好吧，謝謝大家今天加入我們。顯然，這段錄音已經被錄製下來，如果有人想在空閒時間聽的話，可以將其發佈在網站上。但對於那些在線的人，非常感謝你們今天加入我們。如果您還有其他問題或意見，請聯絡我們的任何一位工作人員，您可能都認識 Mani、Darrell 或 Joel，他們中的任何三位都可以隨時與您聊天。所以——對於從多倫多打來電話的各位，我們將看到 PDAC。祝你有美好的一天。

This will conclude today's conference call. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路了。感謝您的參與並祝您有個愉快的一天。