Goldcorp beat expectations in first quarter results with profits rising to $170-million (U.S.) despite a drop in production as it drove costs down.
The net income, amounting to $0.20 per share, was well ahead of an analyst consensus complied by Thomson Reuters of $44.2-million, or $0.08 per share.
Earnings were also higher than the $80-million the company took in for the first quarter of 2016, despite producing substantially fewer ounces.
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The Vancouver-based gold miner said it produced 655,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $800 per ounce in the first quarter, compared with 784,000 ounces at $836 per ounce for the same quarter in 2016.
Goldcorp has targeted a 20 per cent reduction in sustaining costs over the next five years, with a $250-million annual sustainable efficiency program it says is well underway.
The company reaffirmed its 2017 production guidance of 2.5 million ounces at an estimated $850 per ounce all-in sustaining cost.