Despite having a proverbial licence to print money — or cast it — the Royal Canadian Mint’s profits were down about 13% in the first three months of the year, according to financial statements filed with the federal government..Total revenues fell $95.3 million or 11% to $769.7 million compared to $865 million the year before. Net profits slipped $1.9 million to $12.5 million for the period ended April 1 from $14.4 million the year before. . Canada coinsCanada’s first new coins depicting King Charles III. .Gross profits before taxes and special items were actually up about 1.5% to $17.3 million for a 2.2% gross margin. That was up from about 1.8% in the comparable period of 2022..“The Mint continues to operate in an ever-changing and challenging business environment, our sustained profitability demonstrates that we are a strong and resilient organization,” said President and CEO Marie Lemay. “While we are still in the midst of implementing our long-term strategy, it continues to deliver positive results and is positioning us for future growth.”.The drop was fuelled by the precious metals segment, which fell to $747.7 million thus far in 2023 from $825.4 million the prior year..Gold bullion volumes decreased 13% quarter over quarter to 3.19 million ounces from 3.67 million ounces in 2022, while silver bullion volumes increased 1% to 9 million ounces from 8.9 million ounces the year before. .In fact, the underlying gold price is its biggest financial risk. On Tuesday it stood at $1,974.74 an ounce, up about 12% in the last six months.. Gold prices10-year gold prices in USD. .Sales of numismatic products increased 23% quarter over quarter mainly due to the high demand for Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign products, it said.. Effigies of Queen Elizabeth II on Canadian coinsEffigies of Queen Elizabeth II on Canadian coins. .Overall operating expenses increased 17% quarter over quarter to $32.4 million from $27.6 million due to a planned temporary increase in consulting expenses to support the mint’s digital program — mainly cyber-security initiatives — as well as planned increases in employee compensation and travel and hospitality expenses, which it said have returned to normal levels..The losses were offset by an increase in cash and cash equivalents and short term investments which rose to $124.4 million from $79.3 million as of Dec. 31, 2022..As part of its risk management program, the Mint said it continues to actively monitor its global supply chain and logistics networks in support of its continued operations. Despite its best efforts, the Mint expects changes in the macro-economic environment and other external events around the globe to continue to impact its performance in 2023. .The Crown Corp. has plans to be carbon neutral by 2030 which it said would require investments at its main production facility in Winnipeg to add geothermal energy to replace natural gas and electricity..In addition the Mint has launched an initiative to refine gold from “reputable” North American mines for an ethically sourced precious metals exchange trade fund (ETF) in partnership with Sprott Asset Management, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange last August..In addition to producing Canadian circulation coins, the Mint also produces coins for 70 other countries, including Cuba, Norway, Yemen, Colombia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Barbados.
