Belvedere Reports Financial and Operating Results for 2010


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 2, 2011) - Belvedere Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:BEL) ("Belvedere") is pleased to report financial and operating results for the year ending December 31, 2010. The audited financial statements, and management's discussion and analysis have been filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Complete results will also be available on SEDAR and on the Company's Website.

All currency amounts are expressed in euros (€) unless otherwise stated.

Financial Summary 2010
  • Full Year Revenues of 7,120,735 euros
  • Full Year Net income of 3,307,151 euros
  • Full Year Positive operating margin of 652,464 euros
  • Jun 2010 – Cdn$ 2.5 Million raised in Private Placement
  • Jul 2010 - Listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange
  • Aug 2010 - €2 Million convertible loan facility secured
  • Sep 2010 - First revenues received from mining operations
Key Operational Points 2010
  • Feb 2010 – Hitura Nickel Mine purchased from administrators
  • May 2010 – High grade gold intersected in drilling at Kopsa, best intersection 92m averaging 3.2 g/t gold.
  • June 2010 – Indicated Resource estimate announced for K1 (Ängesneva) gold property
  • July 2010 – Production restarts ahead of schedule at Hitura on budget
  • Aug 2010 – Hitura's first full month of production reaches 95% of commercial production target and 50% above planned
  • Full Year 2010 – Hitura milled 234,629 t of ore achieving 127% of 2010 production targets. 858 t (1.9 million pounds) of nickel was produced in concentrate.

David Pym (CEO) comments "Management are very pleased with the solid financial and operating results for 2010. To achieve positive net income and operating margins for the year during the ramp up phase of the Hitura mining operation is an exceptional result. 2010 has been a turnaround year for the company and we look forward to continuing to build on these results during 2011."

Selected Financial Information

The following table has been derived from the consolidated financial statements of the Company for the periods indicated and should be read in conjunction with such statements and notes thereto. Those financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

The Company generated net income for the year ended December 31, 2010 of €3,307,151 or €0.03 per share, which compares with a net loss of €7,365,034 or €0.09 per share reported for fiscal 2009. The principal causes of these quarterly and annual variations are explained after the 'Financial Highlights' table following.

Selected Annual Financial Information
All amounts in €000's, except shares and per share figuresYear ended 31 December 2010Year ended 31 December 2009Year ended 31 December 2008
Revenue7,121-19,298
Operating Expenses *6,4682,86228,274
G&A Expenses *1,1751,1782,263
Other (income) and expenses54013188
Mineral property impairment-12522,973
Loss on bankruptcy of subsidiary-3,384-
Gain on fair valuation of Hitura assets(3,862)--
Income tax recovery(507)-(6,063)
Net income (loss)3,307(7,562)(28,337)
Earnings (loss) per share (basic and diluted)0.03(0.09)(0.36)
Cash Flow (used) from operating activities(1,093)(2,677)(6,982)
Cash Flow (used) from investing activities(3,062)(400)(6,550)
Cash Flow from financing activities3,6341,1167,047
Net increase (decrease) in cash(533)(1,912)(7,167)
Cash at end of period3862,4434,355
Total Assets19,4385,69119,194
Total Liabilities13,7695,69913,281
Working Capital **(1,912)628(5,847)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding112,176,16985,074,45979,162,240
Dividends per Share---
*: Including stock based compensation
**: Excluding cash restricted under standby letter of credit

During the fourth quarter:

The Company generated net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 of €1,738,919, including a gain on fair valuation of the Hitura assets acquired of €3,861,870 or €0.02 per share, which compares with net income of €678,047 or €0.01 per share for the previous quarter and a loss of €3,704,731 or €0.04 per share reported for the same period of fiscal 2009.

Compared to the prior year:

  • In fiscal 2010, the Company reacquired the Hitura mine which produced 858 tonnes of nickel and €7,120,735 in revenues. In fiscal 2009, no revenues were generated while the mine was in care and maintenance. The increase in operating expenses is a consequence of restarting mining operations.
  • General and administrative expenses decreased slightly to €1,175,149 (2009: €1,177,627) substantially as a consequence of a lower stock compensation charge.
  • Other Income and Expenses were €539,190 (2009: €12,919) as a consequence of interest on the convertible loan, accrual of preferred shares dividends and foreign exchange losses.
  • The reacquisition of the Hitura assets resulted in a gain on fair valuation adjustment to the income statement of €3,861,870.
  • Cash decreased to €385,505 (2009: €918,115) primarily as a result of funding the restart of Hitura operations and exploration in gold projects.
  • Accounts receivable €1,455,001 (2009: €Nil), inventories €1,410,738 (2009: €Nil) and prepaid expenses €222,705 (2009: €832), increased significantly as a consequence of the restart of mining operations.
  • Capital assets increased materially to €13,314,088 (2009: €3,193,936) as a consequence of the reacquisition of the Hitura mine.
  • Current and long term liabilities increased to €14,370,643 (2009: €5,679,525) as a consequence of trade payables reflecting the restart of operating activities, leasing of a capital asset for use in mining operations and a convertible loan secured to fund the start up costs at Hitura.
Nickel Operations
For 2010, 234,629 t were milled for a total of 858 tonnes (1.90 million pounds) of nickel in concentrate, 21% more than the mine plan.
MonthMilled (t)Con (t)Ni t in Con.
October49,5812,225193
November37,7421,637131
December46,0931,963171
Year To Date234,62910,268858

Total operating costs for Q4 averaged €38.0/tonne of ore milled. Overall costs for the quarter were €37.1/tonne compared to €40.1/tonne for the first two full operating months in Q3 and €39.2/tonne in the plan. Total operating costs per pound of nickel in concentrate for Q4 averaged €4.7 / lb. Management expects operating costs to continue to drop as full commercial production is reached in 2011.

A total of 6,220 dry metric tons (DMT) of concentrate was shipped during Q4 from Kokkola port in Finland to Jinchuan Group in China. The total for the whole of 2010 was 8,946 DMT.

Outlook

The Hitura nickel mine has made an exemplary restart during 2010. Management's focus is to continue the performance through 2011 and cement the longer term future of the Mine through expanding resources and continuing to convert existing resources into reserves. Extending the open pit is one of the options available to the company to meet it stated goals of increasing mill utilization by 25% to its maximum capacity of 750,000 tpa, lower the overall cost base of the mine and increase annual production to 3,000 tpa of nickel in concentrate. In addition Belvedere is completing studies on the Kopsa gold deposit in preparation for scoping studies on the feasibility of commencing gold production in parallel to nickel production on the Hitura site.

With operations at the Hitura Mine at full production capacity, the conversion of the Investec loan into equity and the completion of the private placement, the company has sufficient financing for at least the next 12 months of normal operations. As at May 2, 2011 the Company had cash resources of €3.5 million.

About Belvedere:

Belvedere Resources Limited is a mining company incorporated in British Columbia with a primary focus on nickel, gold, cobalt and copper in Finland. The Company currently produces 2500t of nickel in concentrate/year from the Hitura nickel mine in Central Finland. The Company has a number of advanced gold projects in close proximity to the Hitura mine.

Forward Looking Statement:

Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statement, which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company (including statements relating to future drill results) are forward-looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements.

Qualified Person

This news release was reviewed by Dr. Toby Strauss, who is acting as Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 with respect to this release.

BELVEDERE RESOURCES LTD.

David Pym, CEO; Suite #404, Vancouver World Trade Centre, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver. BC. V6C 3E2, Canada

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information:

Belvedere Resources Ltd.
David Pym
CEO
+1-604-844-2838

Belvedere Resources Ltd.
Toby Strauss
COO
+1-604-844-2838
www.belvedere-resources.com