The Royal Canadian Mint achieved near-record profits in 2014, with net income before taxes of $56.1 million, despite lower revenues compared to one year ago. This performance reaffirms the Mint as the leader of the global minting industry with record sales in bullion and numismatics, sustained innovation and diversification, as well as a strong focus on strengthening relationships with customers and distributors, among other notable achievements.
“The Mint’s ability to expand markets, generate and apply innovative technologies, and focus on operational excellence has been instrumental in achieving impressive results despite the challenges of a highly competitive and unpredictable environment,” said Sandra L. Hanington, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “I look forward to working with employees to build on recent successes to ensure that the Mint continues to be profitable and sustainable while remaining a successful competitor in the global marketplace.”
Numismatics and Collectibles Business Line revenues reached a new high of $177.3 million, with a record 79 out of 255 collector coins selling out by year end. A sampling of favourite releases included fine silver coins commemorating anniversaries such as the 70th of the D-Day Allied landings in Normandy, the 75th of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the 100th of the loss of the Empress of Ireland, as well as a second flight of Superman™ coins celebrating iconic comic book covers.
The Mint’s Bullion, Refinery and ETR Business Line maintained its leadership of the global bullion coin market in 2014 with 29.2 million Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins sold and market-leading sales of Gold Maple Leaf (GML) bullion coins as the Mint’s precious metal investment products continue to gain ground in North America and Europe, while the Mint also capitalized on an increased sales presence in Asia.
The Foreign Business Line produced and shipped 2.4 billion coins and blanks to 15 international customers while Canadian Circulation production settled at 361.2 million new coins as the Mint also ensured that no coin shortage was experienced in any region of Canada throughout 2014.
Other notable achievements for the Mint in 2014 included:
- A dividend payment of $10 million to its shareholder, the Government of Canada;
- The sell-out of the first run of a new pure gold Maplegram25™ product, bundling 25 one-gram GML coins in divisible blister packs offering unprecedented convenience and liquidity;
- The development of high-speed pad printing technology producing, for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the world’s first new-generation coloured coin to circulate outside of Canada;
- To meet evolving industry demand, another Mint innovation yielded a new non-cyanide diffused bronze solution for yellow circulation coinage; and
- The 2014 “Wait for Me Daddy” $2 circulation coin commemorating the mobilization of Canada in the Second World War which inaugurated the Mint’s six-year program marking milestones of both World Wars on circulation coins.
To read more from the Mint’s 2014 Annual Report, entitled “Tomorrow’s Mint”, please visit www.mint.ca.
