Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your opinion on North American Palladium?

Article Excerpt

North American Palladium, $0.24, symbol PDL on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 391.5 million; Market cap: $94.0 million; www.napalladium.com), owns the Lac des Iles palladium mine near Thunder Bay. It also owns the Vezza gold project in Quebec’s Abitibi region. Palladium is mainly used in catalytic converters for automobiles, as well as in jewellery. In 2014, the company’s revenue rose 43.7%, to $220.1 million from $153.2 million in 2013. The increase came from higher palladium production and sales, higher palladium prices and more favourable exchange rates. Cash flow per share jumped to $0.12 from $0.04. Lac des Iles is forecast to produce 185,000 to 205,000 ounces of palladium in 2015, up from 174,194 ounces in 2014. Palladium prices should rise as the global economic recovery continues to increase vehicle sales. Production of the metal could also slow in South Africa, which has seen a wave of miners’ strikes in recent years, and sanctions-hit Russia. The Lac des Iles mine’s reserves will keep it going until just 2019…