New Gold Inc.

Good morning, my name is Chester and I will be your conference operator today. Welcome to the new Gold's first quarter 2025 earnings call and webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. Please be advised that today's conference call and webcast is being recorded. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press the star button, then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press the star button, then the number two. I would now like to hand the conference over to Ankit Shah, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. Thank you.

Thank you operator and good morning everyone. We appreciate you joining us today for Newgold's first quarter 2025 earnings conference call and webcast. On the line today, we have Patrick Oden, President and CEO, and Keith Murphy, our CFO. In addition, we have Travis Murphy, Vice President of Operations, Luke Buchanan, Vice President of Technical Services, and Jean-François Rabenel, Vice President Geology, available to assist during the question and answer period. Should you wish to follow along with the webcast, please sign in from our homepage at newgold.com. Before the team begins the presentation, I would like to direct your attention to our cautionary language related to the four looking statements found on slide two of the presentation. Today's commentary includes four looking statements relating to Newgold. In this respect, we refer you to our detailed cautionary note regarding four looking statements in the presentation. Your caution that actual results in future events could differ materially from those expressed for implying forward looking statements. Slide 2 provides additional information and should be reviewed. We also refer you to the section entitled Risk Factors in NUGL's latest AIF, MD&A, and other filings available on CDAR+, which set out certain material factors that could cause actual results to differ. In addition, at the conclusion of the presentation, there are a number of end notes that provide important information and should be reviewed in conjunction with the material presented. Slide 4 highlights some of the key accomplishments during the first quarter of 2025. Over the first four months of the year, we have made excellent progress on advancing and completing many of the objectives we presented at the beginning of the year. safety highlighted by our courage to care culture continues to be a focus and strength for the company during the quarter we delivered a low total recordable injury frequency rate of 0.55 a 40 improvement compared to the first quarter of last year and continuing the downward trend over the last three years during the quarter the company produced just over 52 000 ounces of gold and 13.6 million pounds of copper at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,727 per ounce. First quarter gold production represented approximately 15% of the midpoint of the consolidated production guidance of 325,000 to 365,000 ounces of gold, slightly ahead of the planned first quarter guidance of 14%. The company generated over $107 million in cash flow from operations and $25 million in free cash flow, with New Afton contributing an impressive $52 million in quarterly free cash flow. The company successfully achieved several critical path items, which will enable us to realize the increased production profile throughout the year. At New Afton, cave construction progress is now more than 50% complete, facilitating the ongoing ramp up in the mining rate towards the target of 16,000 tons per day by early 2026. At Rainy River, the first four months of the year have focused on waste stripping. The pit is now positioned to deliver ore at a low strip ratio through to the end of the year. In the underground mine, we achieved an important milestone with the pit portal breakthrough, allowing for increased underground development and production rates. As a result, Rainy River is on track to deliver higher goal production and lower costs in the upcoming quarters, in line with our 2025 guidance. The quarter was also successful improving our financial flexibility. The company refinanced and extended its senior notes to 2032 and amended and extended the revolving credit facility to 2029, both at lower rates, thereby increasing New Gold's financial flexibility. And lastly, in April, we announced a new goal would acquire the remaining 19.9% free cash flow interest at New Afton, consolidating our interest to 100%. We successfully delivered the first quarter as planned with the primary goal of creating meaningful value for our shareholders. Before getting into the quarterly details, I would like to take a moment on slide 5 to reiterate the April transaction, where we announced that Newgold would acquire the remaining 19.9% free cash flow interest on New Afton, held by Ontario Teachers, for $300 million. The transaction will be funded with a mix of cash on hand, our credit facility, and $100 million gold prepay. This was an excellent transaction for Newgold and its shareholders for many reasons. There was no equity dilution and no due diligence risk. We consolidated 100% of the free cash flow as we enter a period of strong free cash flow at both New Afton and at Newgold. And it provides the company with full exposure to the significant exploration upside and mine life extension possibilities at New Afton. This transaction concludes a five-year journey that sees Newgold's free cash flow interest return to 100%. The initial transaction in 2020 was one of the critical first steps to improve Newgold's balance sheet. Following two successful transactions for our shareholders, we enter an incredibly exciting period of free cash flow generation with a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility to continue to build from here. We would also like to thank teachers for their support and partnership over the last five years. With that, I will now turn the call over to Geek.

Thank you, Ankit. I'm on slide seven, which has our operating highlights. As Ankit noted, Q1 delivered production and costs on plan. Production totaled approximately 52,200 gold ounces and 13.6 million pounds of copper. This decrease in gold production compared to Q1 2024 was driven by planned lower feed grades at both sites. Consolidated oil and sustaining costs for the quarter were $1,727 per gold ounce on a by-product basis due to the lower planned production in Q1. Costs will continue to trend down throughout the year as production increases. New Afton delivered an excellent quarter as the B3K continued to deliver strong grades better than planned. As a result, New Afton achieved an all-in sustaining cost of negative $687 per ounce after considering the copper credits. Rainy River delivered on plan with the focus on waste tripping to set up the open pit for low strip high ore extraction for the balance of Phase 4. All-in sustaining costs were $2,758 in the quarter and should trend lower throughout the year as production ramps up. Our total capital expenditures for the quarter were approximately $75 million, with $42 million spent on sustaining capital and $33 million on growth capital. At New Afton, sustaining capital is primarily related to equipment and vehicles, while growth capital primarily related to C-Zone underground line development and cave construction. At Rainy River, sustaining capital primarily related to capitalized waste, tailing samurais, and capital components, while growth capital related to underground developments of underground main and intrepid. Turning to the assets, starting with New Afton on slide 8. New Afton delivered another strong quarter. The B3K performed better than planned, and C-zone ore production continued its ramp up following commercial production and crusher commissioning early in the fourth quarter of 2024. First quarter production represented approximately 28% and 25% of the midpoint of guidance of 60,000 to 70,000 ounces of gold and 50 to 60 million pounds of copper respectively, higher than the quarterly guidance of 20% due to those higher B3 grades. The B3 cave is expected to be exhausted by the end of the second quarter, and annual production is expected to be in line with the guidance profile previously provided. All-in sustaining costs for the quarter decreased substantially compared to the prior year period, driven by lower operating expenses, lower sustaining capital spend, and higher byproduct revenues. With increased production at lower costs, New Afton generated an impressive $52 million of free cash flow while continuing to complete the construction of the C-Zone blockade. Turning now to Rainy River on slide 9. Coal production in the first quarter was in line with plan, producing 33,900 ounces. First quarter production represented approximately 12% of the midpoint of guidance of 265,000 to 295,000 ounces of gold, slightly ahead of the quarterly guidance of 11%. Production in the first quarter was lower than prior period, as planned, as the majority of ore process was from the lower-grade stockpile while Phase IV stripping was advanced. With the quarter delivering as planned, production is expected to step up meaningfully going forward, and we remain on track to deliver our production and cost guidance for the year. Our financial results can be found on slide 10. First quarter revenue was $209 million, higher than the prior year quarter due to higher metal prices and higher copper sales, slightly offset by lower gold sales. Cash generated from operations before working capital adjustments was 90 million or 11 cents per share for the quarter. This was higher than the prior year period, primarily due to higher revenues. New Gold generated quarterly free cash flow of 25 million as higher revenue was only partially offset by the higher capital expenditure as key growth projects were advanced. The company recorded a net loss of approximately $17 million or $0.02 per share during Q1. After adjusting for certain of the charges, net earnings was $12 million or $0.02 per share in Q1. Our quarterly adjusted earnings include adjustments related to other gains and losses. Turning to slide 11. Q1 was a very productive quarter as we continued to strengthen our balance sheet and increase our financial flexibility. In March, we completed a 400 million senior notes offering with an interest rate of 6.875% and due in 2032. This was used to tender approximately 289 million of the 400 million 2027 senior notes, with the remainder to be redeemed in mid-July when the call price steps down. This five-year extension, as well as the lower interest rate, significantly enhances our financial flexibility. We also executed an amendment to our existing revolving credit facility with strong support from our syndicate of lenders. Under the amendment, the term has been extended by four years, now maturing in March 2029. An accordion feature has also been added, which will allow the principal amount of the credit facility to be increased by up to 100 million, subject to certain conditions. Lastly, as Ankit mentioned, after the quarter, we announced plans to acquire the remaining 19.9% free cash flow interest in New Aston. This is expected to close in the coming days, and as part of the financing, new gold entered into a gold prepayment in mid-April. The company has agreed to deliver approximately 2,771 ounces of gold per month over the July 2025 to June 2026 period at an average price of $3,157 per gold ounce. We will utilize cash on hand and the revolving credit facility to pay the remaining $200 million, with the expectation that the credit facility will be fully paid off by year-end from the meaningful free cash flow we expect to generate throughout the year. At the end of Q1, we had cash on hand of $213 million and a liquidity position of $590 million with the credit facility on draw. To sum up, we are in a very healthy financial position while utilizing our balance sheet to consolidate our interest in New Afton to 100%. With that, I'll turn the call over to Pat.