A consensus of analysts had anticipated profits of $0.15 per share however, Yamana Gold Incorporated beat those expectations with a $0.20 per share result, leading to an after hours jump in the stock price of $0.41.

Yamana’s production jumped a massive 97% from last year’s quarter and the average realized gold price rose to $927 per ounce up from $645 per ounce previously. The aggressive acquisition programme that Yamana embarked upon when they acquired such companies as Meridian Gold and Northern Orion Resources for $4.8-billion appear to be paying off. Having secured the assets this company can now concentrate on ramping up production where it has forecast production this year of 1.2 million to 1.3 million ounces and output of 1.95 million to 2.5 million ounces by 2012.

It is difficult to get a handle on cash costs as the company have credits from the production of other metals, however they report cash costs as having declined to minus $124 an ounce from minus $105 an ounce a year earlier. Don’t you just love those minus cash costs?

For disclosure purposes we do hold Yamana Gold in our portfolio as part of our core position and we also trade it from time to time in our trading account.

More results are expected this week so look out for them, especially one of our favourites, Agnico Eagle, which should also add some cheer to its shareholders and gold bugs alike.

Yamana Gold Incorporated trades as AUY on the NYSE and as YRI in Toronto.

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