Barrick CEO blasts investor 'short-termism,' defends focus on reinvestment
- Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) CEO Mark Bristow lashes out against "short-termism" among investors who fail to appreciate the need to reinvest for the longer-term to find more gold.
- "The rise in the gold price has prompted a resurgence of the short-termism which has plagued the market, with some investors focusing on short-term gains rather than sustainable growth," undermining the mining industry's ability to grow by demanding a bigger share of profits from high gold prices, the CEO tells the Financial Times.
- If fund managers demanded higher capital returns, governments in countries where the company mines also will seek a higher share of the money, Bristow said.
- Barrick shares have lagged Newmont (NYSE:NEM), falling 30% over the past year vs. a 2% gain for its top rival, but investors see Newmont as offering a clearer plan to return money to shareholders than Barrick, pledging to return 40%-60% of incremental free cash flow to its shareholders if gold stays above $1,200/oz.
- Barrick today reported stronger than expected Q1 earnings and said it would return $750M to shareholders this year in dividends.
Recommended For You
Comments (31)
Barrick is part of the swamp. They have no vision, and sell to the Comex and SLV at those fraudulent spot prices. Avoid Barrick!
Barrick is making another acquisition this Q2
Barrick management is always entertaining. In January 1990, the shares were at $16.49. "Long-term" thinking in the corporate suite has really delivered for shareholders.
NEM is the best of breed major presently. Bristow does make some salient points about maintaining a longterm focus in the midst of a prevalent casino mentality with many investors.
I wonder if he really has a bunch of capital intensive but profitable opportunities lined up or if thats just talk.
Wonder why Mark didn't blast Buffet? What a sniveling coward.
What a great strategy! Reinvest all the money in new mines to flood the market with excessive supply and crash the price, and then write down the value of the mines. This way, the profits from curent high prices are lost in bad investments instead of being paid as dividends. Happens every cycle with those retarded mining CEOs.
New York needs to knock the shit off. Constant plays on “fear” the “would iffs” the constant “market dips” but never good enough, anyway - is making a lot of us sick for just a little consistency. And, Ppl are turning more & more to Crypto currency that feel the same way!
As per usual, they will piss away investors capital to enrich themselves. I’ve seen this movie before.
He should be paying a better dividend. Failure to operate the firm in a efficient way.
@Bous Investments
What does ''better dividend'' (whatever that means) have to do with a firm's operating or capital efficiency??
What does ''better dividend'' (whatever that means) have to do with a firm's operating or capital efficiency??
I get his point but the issue is roughly half of mining exploration is gold focused and the majors have plenty of Resources that are economic at higher prices.
Mark Bristow is one of the best, creative, CEO’s. Let him run the company as he sees fit and you will be greatly rewarded…..
I appreciate the long term thinking, but Barrick may well benefit from committing to an improved dividend strategy as well IMO.
@jaug1 I understand that; however Barrick is raising the dividend significantly this year, with the understanding that it will go back down next year. I feel the lack of consistency probably keeps the price down more than the exact size of the dividend.