Yamana Gold $9.99 - Toronto symbol YRI

YAMANA GOLD $9.99 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 699.5 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion) owns and operates seven operating mines in five countries in North and South America, along with interests in two others plus five development stage properties. It also holds extensive exploration properties. Yamana’s revenues in the three months ended June 30, 2008 rose 83.5%, to $336.9 million from $183.7 million a year earlier. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Last year’s acquisitions of Meridian Gold and Northern Orion Resources accounted for most of the increase. Cash flow rose 94.1%, to $176.5 million from $90.9 million. However, cash flow per share was unchanged at $0.26 due to a 93.3% rise in shares outstanding following the acquisitions. Excluding onetime items, earnings per share fell 31.8%, to $0.15 from $0.22. In the latest quarter, total production rose 122%, to 257,498 gold-equivalent ounces from 115,843. Total production for 2008 is forecast at 1.2 million ounces. Yamana plans to raise output to 2.2 million ounces by 2012. Yamana’s expanding production makes it a potential takeover target for a major gold mining company. That’s not reason enough alone to buy the stock, but it adds to its appeal. The company pays a monthly dividend of $0.01 a share, for a current yield of 1.2%. Yamana is still a buy for aggressive investors.

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