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Barrack reported earnings this morning the minor, announcing it bought back nearly three million shares in the second quarter maintained its quarterly dividend. You can see the shares are up more than six percent in a down market. Joining us to talk about this more is the CEO, Mark Bristow. Mark great to have you on the program. Thanks for
joining us. I wonder if you know the buy back and the earnings beat, all this positive news is enough to catch up with your rivals in terms of your share price performance because you've lagged the biggest competitors out there.
I met aus to chat to you again. Yes, it's always easier to come from behind.
You know.
It's a good shitt of results.
Nos, margins.
We were able to really deliver the login from the rising gold pros into the bottom line, which is which is good.
Margins on gold.
Were up a lot, even more so for copper. Prices were flat and those prices will start coming down on the back end of this year as we address some of our investments in sustainable production and at the same time bring.
Up the production on some of our core assets.
And I think what's really starting to resonate to the market is the fact that we've got real growth. That we did our deals back in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty embedded in that there were no premiums paid, and now we've got some world class assets that are starting to show themselves for what they are and supportive of our announced thirty percent growth by the end of the decade.
Mark elsewhere, this morning, there was a one point six billion dollar deal announced in your industry of gold Fields and buying a Canadian company here giving them control of a full project in Canada. Wondering about your reaction, your competitive reaction. Is this the time now for more M and A and can you see yourself pursuing deals to be expanding?
So Sonali and asked to chat to you as well. You know, this is a deal at Goldfields bought half of the asset just a little while ago. It's buying the whole company now, you know it fits maybe with Goldfields, definitely doesn't fit with the barrack size and return that we look for. It's you know, it's very interesting some of these transactions. You've seen the BHP landin transaction on
copper in Argentina. You know, we're very cautious on doing big M and A transactions that are long dated, on the delivery in a hot market luck we've got today. I think what we're showing is that we've got lots to deliver from the transactions we did five years ago, and they are real value, creative transactions, not just relying on an increasing commodity process.
Mark, I'm curious as to your take on the value of gold as a hedge against inflation. As you mentioned, your margins are stronger, and you know, cost inflation for you has peaked, really I think for consumers as well, and yet gold continues in terms of price. It's march ever higher, not really on the back of weakening dollar either. What's driving this rally if not inflation or weakness in the green back.
You know, Matt, I've spoken to you about this before. The risk of a hard landing is still real and we saw that little anxiety come through the markets a week ago.
And what's what.
The dollar is weaker relative to the goal press. That's the ultimate measure, because the dollar is the strongest of all the paper currencies. But what it's showing is that and the developed economies are all having to deal with very large amounts of debt relative to their GDP. So the global economy is not in good shape. China is not where it was just a few years ago, and neither are any of the developed Western world economy.
So and the goal Press is telling you that. So, and what's.
Interesting just recently is that we saw a big focus on buying physical gold, which drove the goal Press up, you know, to the twenty two hundred and above.
But now we're seeing move back into.
The ETFs and and it's nice to see the reaction in the in the equities. And this is what we invest in Barrick as we invest in high quality assets, and ultimately the market recognizes that and you'll get.
The left up and the equities.
And at the same time, our returns to our shareholders through dividends, capital returns, etc. Has been on a level with our peer group. We've got embedded value in our business and we don't have to go and do M and A, although we never give up on M and A, but we don't have to go and do it at.
A level where it's not easy to see value creation. Mark.
I'm equally interested here to talk about copper. If you think that a risk of a hard landing is still real and copper had slumped nineteen percent from its May peak, you do see a rebound now. But do you think that there's a bigger floor of copper prices that you have to be aware of.
Here, Yes, CINCINALI absolutely.
I mean we've all talked about a very volatile next two years in copper. You know, copper really gets driven by many factors. One of them is the global economy, the perception of economic health in the world today. At the same time, we saw a sudden tightening on the supply side earlier in the year last year as well with the Panama situation. But we haven't seen the pool on the bar side yet. But ultimately that will come. Because the copper industry is ex growth, it will come.
I've always said, you know, our expansion and Barrick into the copper business comes in twenty twenty eight. It's a great time to bring new copper production into the world, and so we're very comfortable with our investments. We do believe ultimately copper is in short supply and it's going to get shorter and shorter, and so that's good for the copper price, but in the next eighteen months to twenty four months is going to be very volatile.
We get some time with you, thanks so much for joining us.
Mark Bristo there
Is the CEO of Barrick Gold and the shares are on a tear today