Coeur D’Alene Mines Back In Red

After two straight profitable quarters, Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. has slipped back into the red.

The Panhandle-based company reported a $4.4 million first-quarter loss, primarily due to payment of preferred dividends. Spokesman Anthony Ebersole also cited declining gold prices, weather problems at two mines and interest due on the $150 million in Mandatory Adjustable Redeemable Securities issued 14 months ago.

The loss compared to $330,000 loss a year earlier but followed the final two quarters of 1996 during which the company posted profits, albeit modest ones.

The red ink for the January-March quarter translated into a loss of 20 cents per share of common stock, up from the two-cent-a-share loss posted a year earlier.

The company maintained a record pace of gold and silver production during the three-month period. Gold output was 33 percent greater at nearly 60,000 ounces while silver production was up 16 percent to 2.54 million ounces.

But those gains were offset by markedly lower prices. The gold market averaged $49 an ounce lower this past winter at just over $351 an ounce compared to a year earlier. Silver was down an average of 52 cents an ounce during the three months.