Kuroto Fund, L.P. - Q4 2016 Letter

Dear Partners and Friends,

PERFORMANCE & PORTFOLIO

In the fourth quarter, Kuroto declined -0.6%, bringing the fund’s full-year return to +14.9%. In comparison, the emerging market index declined -4.1% in the fourth quarter and appreciated +11.5% for the year. For the year to date through February 14, Kuroto appreciated +5.1% while the EM index was up +8.4%  [1]

From a geographic perspective, Peru and the United Arab Emirates were the largest positive contributors to our performance, with Russia, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines also providing significant positive contributions. This was encouraging as not only were these amongst our largest country allocations, but also many of our best performing companies were in these locations. Brazil, surprisingly, was our largest detractor from performance last year despite its market rally.


In the fourth quarter, Kuroto initiated four new investments: financial companies in Georgia and Bangladesh, a service company in India, and an infrastructure company in Vietnam. During the same period, we exited a consumer company in India, a financial in India, a retailer in Russia, and a consumer company in Vietnam as these businesses all reached full valuations late last year. A fifth exit came from a consumer company based in the Philippines whose management team was too deliberate in rolling out its new strategy at the same time that competition was intensifying.


In total for the year, we exited 10 investments, which is a meaningful amount of turnover for the fund. The developing world continues to be a challenging environment in which to find new investments. That said, over the course of the year we were able to add stakes in 8 new companies.


As of year-end, the portfolio consisted of investments in 26 companies trading at an average of 12x our estimated earnings for 2017 and generating an ROE of 17% and a 3% dividend yield. These metrics are roughly on par with portfolios over the last few years.

Top-Five Holdings

Aramex   –   10.4% of the fund

Aramex is a UAE listed express-delivery company similar to FedEx or DHL. The combination of the company’s reputable brand and the network effect inherent to express delivery form a particularly durable barrier to entry. The company continues to generate nearly a 50% adjusted return on equity (excluding cash and goodwill), making it one of the highest-return businesses we own.


Throughout the first three quarters of 2016, the company faced persistent headwinds in the Middle East.  While stated revenues grew 15% for the period, after adjusting for a one-time revaluation gain, operating income was only up 2%. Some of the margin contraction was caused by the acquisition of a lower-margin business, but most of the margin contraction came from declines in its core domestic-express business in the Middle East. Despite the weakness, the company was hesitant to cut too hastily into its manpower. 


Strong fourth quarter numbers suggest that the worst of the recent weakness in the Middle East may have passed. Longer-term, the growth prospects for Aramex remain very attractive. In particular, the business about which we are most optimistic (e-commerce) continues to grow faster than the overall company and now represents close to 30% of revenues. 


In 2016, Aramex consummated a particularly important strategic joint venture with Australia Post to provide e-commerce delivery services globally via post offices. This joint venture is fundamentally different from Aramex’s past corporate transactions. While the joint venture is still in its infancy, there is the opportunity for this to be as large as their existing business. As with any new venture there is much uncertainty, but the market isn’t making us pay anything for the option, nor for the world-class management team at Aramex.


Ferreycorp   –   8.7%

Ferreycorp, the exclusive Caterpillar dealer in Peru, delivered as expected in 2016 despite a weak environment for both construction and mining investment.  From 2015’s record levels, sales were down 9% and adjusted earnings per share were down 6% in 2016.


It has been a challenging operating environment for Ferreycorp: mining investment in Peru has declined by more than 50% from its 2013 peak, and the recent election added a further economic headwind.  That said, Ferreycorp was buttressed over this period by its high-margin service business, and we expect the company to benefit from increasing mining/infrastructure investment and political certainty going forward.


President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), who won the runoff election in June, has laid out an ambitious program of reforms and projects to revive economic growth. Infrastructure investments form a major part of this program and should help generate new demand from the construction industry for Ferreycorp. Many of these projects have been planned for years and we expect to see the impact in 2017.


Mining investment should also see some improvement as the industry moves out of the downturn of the last few years. Copper, zinc, gold, and silver prices have all recovered from their recent lows and Peru (which is globally very competitive on the cost curve) should start to see investment dollars flowing into new projects again. PPK’s government should help here as well. Under former president Humala, social conflicts with local communities became intractable for several companies. PPK understands that his economic agenda requires mining investment and will push his ministries to help mining companies obtain the social licenses needed to operate. While mining investments will likely take time to revive, we believe that we are through the worst of the downturn.


Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we believe that there is ample room for Ferreycorp to improve its margins, use its balance sheet more efficiently, and reduce investments in non-core subsidiaries. The company’s directors stand for election on a three-year cycle; we expect a meaningful shakeup, with several board seats turning over this March. We think that this injection of fresh thinking will lend some urgency to the company’s efforts to generate financial returns on par with its very strong competitive position.


FPT   –   6.4%

A Vietnamese technology and telecom conglomerate, FPT continues to concentrate its efforts on customer service and returns on capital: a highly unusual focus for a Vietnamese corporation. Importantly, this emphasis enabled the company to generate a 21% return on equity in 2016 even while some of its businesses struggled. 


For the full year, sales grew 4% and earnings 3%. The numbers, however, are clouded by problems the company faced in its distribution-of-IT business. In the latter part of 2015, Apple decided it had enough scale in Vietnam to distribute its products directly to retailers rather than through FPT. This decision by Apple resulted in a painful, albeit onetime, loss of sales for FPT last year.  


Excluding the impacted distribution business, FPT’s revenues would have grown 18% with operating income up 16% in 2016.  These numbers are particularly impressive when you consider that FPT’s internet-service-provider business continued to amortize large investments as it upgrades its network from copper to fiber optic cable over just two years. Additionally, the company’s domestic IT services faced headwinds as some projects were deferred by state-owned companies that put spending on hold around last year’s elections. 


Importantly, FPT has begun the process of streamlining their businesses. We believe this will result in a more valuable, high-return company. More specifically, they are currently negotiating sales of their retail and distribution businesses. The company will likely use the proceeds of either transaction to increase their ownership in the ISP business. The result should focus management and the company’s balance sheet on one of its highest-return business lines. With the stock trading at 9x our estimate of this year’s earnings, the positive evolution in the company’s structure has obviously not been discounted by the market.


RFM   –   5.8%

RFM is a food company listed in the Philippines with dominant market share in the underpenetrated branded categories of ice cream (76%) and pasta (39%). Their crown jewel—an ice cream JV with Unilever—accounts for over 50% of earnings and more than 75% of the company’s value.  In addition to the strong Selecta brand and a wide distribution network of 60,000 self-owned freezers, RFM’s joint venture with Unilever benefits from Unilever’s global management expertise in the ice cream business. 


In the first nine months of 2016, the company’s revenue growth slowed to the single digits, weighed down by a roughly 10% revenue decline in the commoditized institutional-flour business. However, earnings growth remained on track at 10%, mainly driven by strong double-digit growth in ice cream and pasta. The resulting mix shift away from flour had the silver lining of overweighting the higher-return branded-foods business and improving the company’s ROE to roughly 20%.


Going forward, ice cream will remain the key driver of growth and value as RFM targets expansion of its distribution network from 60,000 to 100,000 freezers within the next three years. The company also expects to see higher growth in pasta sales with the launch of consumer-friendly, single-serving packets. We believe that these businesses more than account for the current enterprise value.


To maintain an efficient balance sheet the company announced a higher dividend payout ratio of 50% and plans to continue their share buyback program.


Moscow Exchange   –   5.0%

Moscow Exchange is a uniquely dominant financial services franchise. Imagine combining the U.S. operations of the NYSE, NASDAQ, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, the bond, FX, and repo desks of all the large banks and brokers, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation into one company: in a nutshell, that is Moscow Exchange.


While all of Moscow Exchange’s markets are underdeveloped and therefore represent an exceptional long-term opportunity, it is important to recognize that the company is not yet on a durable growth trajectory. Despite this and the challenging macro environment in Russia, Moscow Exchange did grow its core exchange business 16% during the first nine months of 2016. That said, this improvement was largely offset by falling investment income. Going forward, we expect interest income to continue to decline and consequently we are expecting flat earnings for 2017.


The company’s largest shareholder remains the Central Bank of Russia and the chairman of the board is still the well-respected former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin. It is worth noting that Russian oligarchs have steered clear of the exchange. To their credit, the oligarchs realize that they cannot exercise any influence over the exchange without running the company’s franchise. This take-it/break-it dynamic provides an extra layer of insurance against some of the worst of Russia’s behavior. 


The company is trading at 12x our estimate of this year’s earnings, which represents a significant discount to other global exchanges. While we wait, the company pays a 5% dividend. This valuation greatly undervalues a premiere franchise not to mention any further development of Russian capital markets, from which Moscow Exchange would benefit handsomely.



Sincerely,


Sean Fieler                   

Daniel Gittes                     

     

ENDNOTES

[1] Performance stated for Kuroto Fund, L.P. Class A on a net basis. An investor’s performance may differ based on timing of contributions, withdrawals, share class, and participation in new issues. Performance contribution derived in US dollars, gross of fees and fund expenses. Sector performance figures are derived using monthly performance contribution calculations in US dollars, gross of all fees and fund expenses. P&L and exposures on cash and currency forwards included under Cash. Unless otherwise noted, all company-specific data derived from internal analysis, company presentations, or Bloomberg. Company exposures expressed as a percentage of 12.31.16 pre-redemption AUM. Valuations as of January 2017.

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By Kieran Brennan April 29, 2025
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Dear Partners and Friends, PERFORMANCE Equinox Partners Precious Metals Fund, L.P. fell -12.9% in the fourth quarter, finishing the year down – 2.9%. The fund’s performance reflects the lackluster performance of the gold mining sector as well as the underperformance of the companies we own. While there were some clear themes, such as producing companies outperforming exploration companies, our 2024 results are most accurately captured through a description of our six best and six worst performing investments during the year. These twelve companies capture every investment that contributed at least 1%, positive or negative, to our 2024 fund performance. A Challenging Year In 2024, the gold price finished up +27.4%. The GDXJ ETF which tracks the index of junior gold mining producers was up +15.7%. Our portfolio of miners in this fund was down -2.9%. The underperformance of the gold miners as compared to gold largely reflects government participation in the gold market. In 2024, governments bought gold, not gold miners. The poor performance of the gold miners also reflects the sector’s continued subpar returns on capital. The S&P TSX Global Gold universe, a group of large, mature gold miners, only generated an 11% ROE in 2024 and a 5.4% free cash flow yield according to RBC. Despite their inadequate returns on capital, producing miners handily outperformed most exploration and development companies. There remains almost no market for most gold mining companies that are years away from first production. As value investors with contrarian instincts, we have found the increasingly irrational valuations of the pre-revenue companies of particular interest. Often as a project advances, the equity market value of the company declines. These share price declines in turn create a self-reinforcing dynamic in which the small, cash-starved companies underperform because they don’t have access to the capital necessary to move their projects forward. At this point, the downward spiral of pre-revenue gold miners is very extended and nearing a floor in our opinion. Not only are the valuations of these companies incredibly low, but these companies have become increasingly attractive acquisition targets. Although exploration companies are the most severely discounted sector, 54% of our fund remains invested in producing companies. In general, our producing companies trade at a discount to the sector because they are executing on significant capex plans and lack free cash flow. During construction periods, the market can become excessively skeptical. This skepticism, in turn, can present an opportunity to buy high quality assets run by good management teams at attractive valuations. We believe that this is clearly the case at Eldorado Gold, K92 Mining, West African Resources and Adriatic Metals. Overall, our miners are incredibly cheap. Assuming a flat gold price, we estimate our producers will generate a 23.5% IRR. Our companies that do not yet generate any cash flow are cheaper still. Ascot, Thesis, Troilus and Goldquest, for example, have an average IRR of over 30% at current metals prices. Six Winners and Six Losers in 2024 Note: Below IRR is our Equinox internally calculated IRR based on 2024 year-end market prices and forecasted future FCF per share to equity. Borealis Mining: 2024 Performance +29%, IRR 48% Borealis was founded by Kelly Malcolm in 2023 to leverage a large heap leach facility in Nevada by acquiring nearby low-grade heap leach assets. We invested in a pre-IPO round at a $30M post-money valuation. At the time, Borealis had approx. $5M worth of crushed stockpiles, a fully permitted heap leach facility, ~60,000oz of reserves ready to be processed with limited capex and substantial exploration potential at depth. In late 2024, Borealis began to acquire nearby deposits. Borealis purchased Bull Run for $6M in cash. This translates to $14 per ounce for ~500,000oz of already defined resources, and confirms managements intuition that there are small, stranded assets for sale in Nevada. We expect Borealis to continue this acquisition strategy and ramp to become a ~75,000 oz per year producer. K92 Mining: 2024 Performance +22%, IRR 17% K92 controls the world-class Kainantu mine in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This mine is a high-grade, low-cost asset with a 3 million oz resource at 7g/t. K92 produced 120,000 oz last year, and we expect the company’s Phase 3 expansion will take annual production to over 150,000 oz (gold equivalent) in 2025. While K92 has often struggled to meet its ambitious growth targets, the company has strung together two consecutive quarters of meaningfully higher production with higher than reserve grades. K92 recently expanded the milling capacity which had been a meaningful bottleneck for years. If the company can reach Phase 4, the Kainantu mine’s production will produce ~400,000 oz at a bottom quartile cash cost of <$1000/oz while maintaining a clean balance sheet with minimal leverage. West African Resources: 2024 Performance +38%, IRR 31% In 2024, West African Resources (WAF) remained on-time and on budget in the build of the company’s second mine in Burkina Faso, called Kiaka. Once Kiaka is commissioned in Q3 2025, WAF will be a ~450,000 oz annual producer for the next 10 years. While the construction has proceeded as expected, WAF was adversely impacted by the local content language in Burkina Faso’s new mining code. Rather than pay the resulting mark up in their rental of local equipment, WAF elected to purchase their mining fleet outright. This decision added $150 million to the company’s capital budget and resulted in a July equity raise of the same amount. While we were disappointed with the need for more equity capital, ultimately the raise will accelerate WAF’s buy-back and dividend plans. If the company continues to trade at the current valuation, we expect the board will announce a sizable share repurchase as soon as the company’s debt is repaid. Hochschild Mining: 2024 Performance +96%, IRR 18% Hochschild Mining (HOC) is a proven mine builder with the strategy of reinvesting free cash flow into new projects to grow production. In 2024, we visited their newly commissioned mine in Brazil, called Mara Rosa, which was successfully built on time and on budget. Mara Rosa will deliver a 20%+ project level IRR and highlights HOC's competence in executing medium-size projects in Latin America. We expect the company will be able to repeat this success with another mine in Brazil, the Monte Do Carmo project in the neighboring state of Tocantins. Big picture, HOC is a family-owned business with a goal of producing 500,000 ounces of gold per year by 2030. While we would prefer a return on capital goal rather than a growth target, we appreciate the straight-forward way the company organizes its operations, and we believe the company will not undertake projects with less than a 20% cash on cash IRR. Moreover, unlike many growth miners, when the company reaches their targeted 500,000 ounces of annual production – anticipated for 2030 - we expect HOC to transition to return free cash flow to shareholders. Galiano Gold: 2024 Performance +35%, IRR 29% Galiano has been busily working on a new mine plan which will be released on January 28th. We expect the company’s production guidance will increase as Galiano elects to move forward with the redevelopment of their higher grade Nkran pit. We also expect increased exploration spending in 2025 as the company ramps up work on their newly consolidated land package. We are expecting Galiano to guide to a production target of approx. 250,000 ounces per year by 2027. Even at this higher rate of production, we anticipate the company will be able to more than replace reserves given the prospectivity of the Asankrangwa gold belt in which they operate. While Galiano will have to reinvest the vast majority of its cash flow in growth in 2025 and 2026, the company should become a substantial free cash flow generator beginning in 2027. Solidcore Resources: 2024 Performance +22%, IRR 21% Solidcore, a spin-out from Polymetal, is a new position in our fund. Solidcore is run by CEO Vitaly Nesis, and controlled by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund. The company operates two long-lived mines in Kazakhstan and produces 480,000 ounces of gold annually at a competitive All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $1,300/oz. With an EV/EBITDA multiple of 2.2x, Solidcore trades at an almost 50% discount to its peers. This undervaluation is largely due to the company’s sole listing on the Astana International Exchange in Kazakhstan. We expect Solidcore to generate roughly $400 million in free cash flow per year at current gold prices. In 2025 and 2026, this free cash flow will be invested in a new pressure oxidation autoclave. Beginning in 2027, we anticipate that $100 million USD of the company’s free cash flow will be distributed to shareholders. This prospective dividend along with the company’s plan to re-list on the London Stock Exchange offers two catalysts that should drive a significant re-rating. Orezone Gold: 2024 Performance -30%, IRR 27% While Orezone completed its initial build on time and on budget, the company failed to generate the free cash flow necessary to internally finance the expansion of its operations in Burkina Faso. The company’s reliance on high-cost diesel generators and an unreliable power grid proved particularly problematic. Largely due to higher-than-expected power costs, the midpoint of their AISC guidance increased by $100/oz from last year’s projection of $1,338/oz. Despite the elevated power costs, Orezone successfully closed their financing for the hard rock processing plant in December 2024. This financing will enable Orezone to increase annual production from approx. 120,000 oz in 2024 to ~180,000 oz in 2026. We expect 2025 to be a pivotal year for the company as they will begin to generate sufficient cash to pay down debt and continue building towards their 250,000 oz/year target. We are also encouraged by the company’s ongoing exploration program which has the potential to increase the Bombore’s mine life at higher grades. C3 Metals: 2024 Performance -62% C3 stock declined significantly in 2024 even as the company made significant progress advancing their projects in both Jamaica and Peru. With respect to their Jamaican asset, C3 Metals signed a joint venture agreement with the Stewart family, one of the wealthiest families on the island. C3 is now well-positioned to do a JV deal with a larger international mining company that can finance the costly deep holes necessary to test the porphyry copper deposit’s potential. In Peru, C3 Metals received a permit to access one of its land packages located just 40 kilometers east of MMG’s Las Bambas mine. This permit, which took years to secure, opens the door for further exploration in a proven copper-rich region. With the permit in hand, C3 Metals should be able to bring in a larger partner to drill out the asset. Troilus Gold: 2024 Performance -45%, IRR 35% In May 2024, Troilus submitted its feasibility study to the Canadian government. This new study detailed their plan to develop a 22-year open pit mine that would produce approx. 300,000 oz of gold per year. With current gold prices north of $2,600 and copper hovering around $4, the project will likely move forward. The company has received financial support from a handful of export credit agencies interested in its 10% copper production. Troilus is also in the final stages of submitting the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”), another key milestone as they advance towards construction. Located 300 kilometers north of Chibougamau, Quebec, the Troilus project is a brownfield site in a favorable mining jurisdiction with the potential to become a Top 10 copper gold project in Canada. We are fans of CEO Justin Reid and believe in his ability to permit the project and advance it towards becoming a premier North American copper-gold producer. At a $4/oz equity market cap to gold equivalent ounces in ground ratio, we believe Troilus is one of Canada’s best leveraged investments to rising gold and copper prices. Ascot Resources: 2024 Performance -23%, IRR 38% Ascot Resources put its Premier gold project on care & maintenance in September of 2024. At the time, the company didn’t have enough ore coming from the underground mine to profitably operate the 2,500 tonnes per day mill. To rectify the lack of available ore, the company raised $43 million, extended the term of their debt, and decided to invest in an additional 2,500 meters of development before commissioning the mill. The board then made a change at CEO and brought in Jim Currie for his extensive underground mining experience and added our own Coille Van Alphen to the board. Underground development is currently underway, and we expect the mill to restart in Q2 2025. One more injection of capital will likely be required to ensure the company has a sufficient working capital buffer as they restart the mill. When the mine reaches commercial production, it will be able to generate a sustainable ~$100m of FCF per year which should translate into a stock price of at least $1 CAD per share. Great Pacific Gold: 2024 Performance -47% Great Pacific owns two highly prospective gold exploration projects in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Over the course of 2024, the company refined its exploration targets and drilled 5000m at its Kesar project in the highlands of PNG. The Kesar project looks to be an extension of nearby K92’s mine, and as such may be sold to K92. Great Pacific will begin drilling exploration targets at its second PNG property in Q2 of 2025. This property is a brownfield site with past production at a grade of more than 10 g/t. Great Pacific has a third asset in Australia, which we believe could be sold to fund the company’s exploration activities in PNG. Great Pacific is led by an excellent CEO in Greg McCunn. We got to know Greg through a previous investment in West Africa. As CEO, he brings the necessary vision, discipline, and accountability to an exploration company. We believe the company will deliver exploration success at their two PNG assets and ultimately enable Greg to create shareholder value in a variety of ways. GoGold Resources: 2024 Performance -24%, IRR 30% GoGold has been waiting two years for its permit in Mexico. The delay was caused by the previous Mexican President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador’s (AMLO) staunch opposition to new mining development. In the end, while neither of AMLO’s major proposed changes to the mining code passed, few mining permits of any kind were issued during his time in office. GoGold’s large cash buffer and existing heap leach operation enabled the company to wait out AMLO without needing to raise additional equity capital. We think their patience will soon be rewarded as the new administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to process permit applications on their technical merits. In GoGold’s case, the technical merits of their Los Ricos South project are exceptionally strong with over 100 million oz of silver at an average grade of 276 g/t. Sincerely, Equinox Partners Investment Management
By Kieran Brennan January 17, 2025
Dear Partners and Friends, PERFORMANCE Equinox Partners, L.P. declined -6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, finishing the calendar year 2024 up +17.7% net of all fees. Our poor performance in the fourth quarter was driven by a sharp selloff in gold and silver miners despite a flat gold price during the period. 2024 Year in Review Crew Energy accounted for 100% of our fund’s performance in 2024. We offered a fulsome write-up of Crew in our third quarter letter and need not repeat the details of the acquisition by Tourmaline here, other than to note that the 72% premium resulted in an ~18% contribution to the fund’s total return. While there was significant movement among our other investments, their aggregate contribution was close to zero. This is a disappointing result given the significant progress many of our companies made last year. The market was not impressed by Paramount Resources’ sale of its core asset to Ovintiv for $3.3bn CAD. Nor did the market seem to care that Kosmos energy finally brought its flagship Tortue asset online in December. Thesis Gold’s positive feasibility study elicited an initial positive reaction, which was quickly reversed. Elsewhere, the market remains totally indifferent to the rapid progress that West African Resources is making at their Kiaka asset. While we understand that our sectors are out of favor, we would hope to see at least some of the value they are creating reflected in their stock prices in 2025. We’ve been busy over the past six months, establishing several sizable, new positions. We sold half of the Tourmaline shares we received in consideration for our Crew shares and used funds to make the following investments: an 11% portfolio weight in Solidcore Resources, an 8% position in Kosmos Energy, a 5% weighting in Ensign Energy, and a 5% weight in Gran Tierra Energy. Solidcore and Kosmos are both top five positions and receive a full writeup in the letter that follows. Ensign Energy is a North American energy service company, and Gran Tierra Energy is an E&P company with assets in Latin America and Canada. Both Ensign and Gran Tierra trade at particularly compelling valuations. investment Thesis Review for our top 5 Long Positions by Weight
By Kieran Brennan January 17, 2025
Dear Partners and Friends, PERFORMANCE Kuroto Fund, L.P. appreciated +6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and finished the year up +11.1%. Performance for the quarter was driven primarily by the positive performance our operating company holdings in Nigeria, Ghana, and Georgia. A breakdown of Kuroto Fund exposures can be found here . 2024 Year in Review Kuroto’s top five investments made large strides last year. Seplat completed its ExxonMobil Nigeria acquisition, more than doubling its production, cash flow and reserves. Georgia Capital successfully sold a non-core asset and is in a good position to buy back a lot of stock this year. MTN Ghana saw strong operational performance while Ghana’s economy and currency stabilized. Guaranty Trust Bank completed a government-mandated equity raise, and Nigeria made steps towards stabilizing its economy. Lastly, Kosmos brought on its long-delayed Tortue LNG project. In each case, we believe the market has not adequately factored in the progress our companies have made, and we anticipate a more fulsome rerating of our top holdings in 2025.
By Kieran Brennan November 1, 2024
Dear Partners and Friends, PERFORMANCE Equinox Partners Precious Metals Fund, L.P. rose +3.1% in the third quarter and is up +11.0% through the end of September 2024. Performance for the quarter was driven primarily by our group of explorers, with additional positive contribution coming from the producing segment of the portfolio. These gains were partially offset by the decline of one of our development stage companies which has experienced delays and raised additional capital. As our gold miners have lagged the indices, a substantial valuation gap has opened between the largest gold miners in the industry and the producing companies we own. At spot pricing, consensus sell-side models have Agnico, Barrick, Kinross and Newmont delivering an IRR of just 3%. Our portfolio of producers, on the other hand, models out to an IRR of 20% using the same metals price assumptions. There's substantial value in the gold mining sector, but the largest companies are not the ones to own.
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