The Royal Canadian Mint has reported another strong quarter with consolidated revenues of $569.7 million in the 13 weeks ending June 28, 2014 and consolidated profit before taxes increased 21.8% to $17.9 from $14.7 million in the same period in 2013.
“This quarter’s performance confirms the demand for the Mint’s diversified range of products and services in Canada, the United States, and Southeast Asia,” said Marc Brûlé, Chief Financial Officer of the Royal Canadian Mint. “One area where we continue to grow is in our numismatics and collectibles business where customers continue to enjoy a broad range of coin themes, innovative technologies and superior craftsmanship.”
Revenue related to the management of the Canadian coinage system and production of circulation coins was $30.0 million in the quarter compared to $33.4 million in the same period in 2013. The number of pieces produced/sold was relatively stable at 15.0 million pieces compared to 15.5 million coins in the second quarter of 2013.
Sales of Silver Maple Leaf (SML) coins declined to 7.2 million ounces from 7.4 million ounces in the same period last year. Demand for SML remains strong, particularly in Europe, North America and emerging markets such as Southeast Asia. The decline in Gold Maple Leaf (GML) coin sales reflects a shift in investor sentiment away from physical assets to the equity markets. GML sales declined 60.9% to 161 thousand ounces compared to 412 thousand ounces in the same period in 2013.
Demand continues to build for the Mint’s numismatic products, with revenue increasing 4.4% to $42.5 million in the 13 weeks to June 28, 2014 from $40.7 million in the same period in 2013.
The Mint issued 64 new products during the quarter compared to 51 in the second quarter last year. There were 16 sell-outs during the quarter compared to 13 in the same period in 2013. The most popular coins during the quarter were premium coins – those that sell for $1,000 or more – as well as those featuring new technologies and special features such as ultra high relief, Venetian glass, micro-engraving and hologram.
The Mint sold 408.2 million coins and blanks to five countries in the 13 weeks ended June 28, 2014 compared to 499.8 million coins and blanks to 10 countries in the same period in 2013. This concluded a two-year contract to deliver 1.9 billion blanks to Brazil. Revenue increased 61.91% to $40.8 million in the first half of 2014 from $25.2 million in the first half of 2013.
Other notable Mint achievements in the second quarter include:
• A collaboration between the Mint and Cossette, the Mint’s marketing
agency of record, earned two Cyber category Bronze Lion awards at the
prestigious Cannes Lions 2014 festival in June for the design and effectiveness
of the “Heart of the Arctic” micro site.
• Notable products issued during the quarter included a coloured coin
with a handcrafted Venetian Murano glass leopard frog on a water lily;
the first in a series of three coins to feature famous Canadian shipwrecks,
the RMS Empress of Ireland; and a half ounce fine silver coin
commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
• The Mint released three face value coins – “$20 for $20” Summertime,
“$50 for $50” Polar Bear and “$100 for $100” Bighorn Sheep. This fine silver
commemoration program continues to generate significant demand and has
proven to be very successful in building the Mint’s customer base.
• During the quarter the Mint completed the second phase of mint.ca mobile,
which made the entire website mobile friendly and also launched a “click to chat”
feature through which web visitors are invited to participate in a live chat
with the Mint’s inbound call centre representatives.