Mr. Paul Tomory reports

CENTERRA GOLD REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2023 RESULTS; SECOND CONSECUTIVE QUARTER OF STRONG CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES; OVER $600 MILLION IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

Centerra Gold Inc. today released its fourth quarter and full year 2023 operating and financial results. All figures are in United States dollars.

President and chief executive officer Paul Tomory commented: "Centerra delivered a strong finish to 2023, producing 350,317 ounces of gold and 61.9-million pounds of copper in the full year, with Mount Milligan achieving the highest mill throughput since the start of operations in August, 2013. We met our revised 2023 production and cost guidance, and ended the year with robust cash and cash equivalents of over $600-million. The fourth quarter of 2023 was our second consecutive quarter of significant free cash flow, spearheaded by the restart at Oksut in June, 2023. In 2024, we expect to produce between 370,000 and 410,000 ounces of gold, which the midpoint is 11 per cent higher than last year's production, and copper production is expected to be between 55 [million] and 65 million pounds. We are well positioned for a strong 2024 as we continue to deliver on our strategic plan and maximize the value of the assets in our portfolio."

Fourth quarter 2023 highlights

Operations

• Production: Fourth quarter 2023 consolidated gold production of 129,259 ounces, including production of 40,503 ounces of gold from the Mount Milligan mine and 88,756 ounces of gold from the Oksut mine. Copper production in the quarter was 19.7 million pounds.
• Sales: Fourth quarter 2023 gold sales of 130,281 ounces at an average realized gold price of $1,846 per ounce and copper sales of 16.6 million pounds at an average realized copper price of $3.00 per pound. The average realized gold and copper prices include the impact from the Mount Milligan streaming agreement.
• Costs: Consolidated gold production costs were $595 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) on byproduct basis were $831 per ounce for the quarter.
• Capital expenditures: Fourth quarter 2023 additions to property, plant, equipment (PPE) and sustaining capital expenditures were $67.9-million and $34.5-million, respectively. Sustaining capital expenditures in the fourth quarter 2023 primarily included construction of a water pumping system at Mount Milligan, and deferred stripping and heap leach expansion at Oksut.

Financial

• Net earnings: Fourth quarter 2023 net loss of $28.8-million or a loss of 13 cents per share and adjusted net earnings of $61.2-million or 28 cents per share. Main adjustments include $50.0-million of reclamation provision revaluation expense and $34.1-million of impairment loss relating to the Kemess project and Berg property.
• Free cash flow: In the fourth quarter 2023, cash provided by operating activities was $145.4-million and free cash flow was $111.0-million. This includes $144.3-million of cash provided by mine operations and $127.9-million of free cash flow at Oksut.
• Cash and cash equivalents: Total liquidity of $1,011.0-million, representing a cash balance of $612.9-million and $398.1-million available under a corporate credit facility as at Dec. 31, 2023.
• Dividend: Quarterly dividend declared of seven Canadian cents per common share.

Other

• Share buybacks: Under Centerra's normal course issuer bid (NCIB) program, the company repurchased and cancelled 361,500 common shares in the fourth quarter 2023, for the total consideration of $2.1-million.
• Corporate development updates: In the fourth quarter 2023, Centerra received a milestone payment of $25-million from a subsidiary of the Orion Mine Finance Group in relation to the sale of its 50-per-cent interest in the Greenstone gold mines partnership (Greenstone project) in 2021.

Full year 2023 highlights

Operations

• Production: Full year 2023 consolidated gold production was 350,317 ounces, achieving the midpoint of the 2023 gold production guidance range, including production of 154,391 ounces of gold from Mount Milligan and 195,926 ounces of gold from Oksut. Copper production for the full year was 61.9 million pounds, in line with the 2023 copper production guidance range.
• Sales: Full year 2023 gold sales of 348,399 ounces at an average realized gold price of $1,718 per ounce and copper sales of 60.1 million pounds at an average realized copper price of $3.01 per pound.
• Costs: Full year 2023 consolidated gold production costs were $733 per ounce and AISC on byproduct basis were $1,013 per ounce, in line with the 2023 gold production cost and AISC on byproduct basis guidance ranges.
• Capital expenditures: Full year 2023 additions to property, plant, equipment (PPE) and sustaining capital expenditures were $121.7-million and $83.5-million, respectively. Sustaining capital expenditures for the full year were below the 2023 guidance range as a result of lower capitalization to the tailings storage facility (TSF) at Mount Milligan and the deferral of some capital spending to 2024.
• 2024 guidance: As published on Feb. 14, 2024, Centerra's 2024 consolidated gold production guidance is between 370,000 and 410,000 ounces, an 11-per-cent increase from the midpoint of guidance over last year's production, and copper production guidance is between 55 million and 65 million pounds of copper. Two thousand twenty-four consolidated gold production cost guidance is between $800 and $900 per ounce and consolidated AISC on a byproduct basis guidance is between $1,075 and $1,175 per ounce.

Financial

• Net earnings: Full year 2023 net loss of $81.3-million or a loss of 37 cents per share and adjusted net earnings of $10.5-million or five cents per share. Main adjustments include $34.2-million of reclamation provision revaluation recovery, $34.1-million of impairment loss relating to the Kemess project and Berg property, $19.7-million of income tax expense resulting from the effect of foreign exchange rate changes on monetary assets and liabilities in the determination of taxable income related to Oksut and Mount Milligan, as well as a one-time income tax levied on taxpayers eligible to claim Turkish investment incentive certificate benefits in 2022.
• Free cash flow: Full year 2023 cash provided by operating activities of $245.6-million and free cash flow of $160.2-million.

Other

• Share buybacks: During the year-ended Dec. 31, 2023, Centerra repurchased and cancelled 3,475,800 common shares for a total consideration of $20.4-million under its NCIB program.
• Oksut: On May 31, 2023, the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change approved an amended environmental impact assessment for Oksut and the company resumed full operations at the mine on June 5, 2023.
• Corporate credit facility: In September, 2023, the company announced the extension of its $400-million revolving credit facility, which is currently undrawn, with a renewed four-year term maturing on Sept. 8, 2027.
• Strategic plan: In September, 2023, Centerra announced its strategic plan for each asset in the company's portfolio along with its approach to capital allocation. The strategic plan identifies the opportunities at each asset that will maximize the value and drive future growth for the company. In conjunction with the execution of the strategic plan, Centerra developed a capital allocation strategy that is currently focused on returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, investing in internal projects and exploration within the current portfolio, and evaluating external opportunities for growth.
• Renewal of NCIB: In November, 2023, Centerra renewed its NCIB to purchase for cancellation up to an aggregate of 18,293,896 common shares in the capital of the company, representing 10 per cent of the public float.

Highlights subsequent to year-end 2023

• Mount Milligan mine life extension and additional agreement with Royal Gold: Centerra announced an additional agreement with Royal Gold related to Mount Milligan, which resulted in a life of mine extension to 2035, and established favourable parameters for potential future mine life extensions. This is a key first step in the company's strategy to realize the full potential of this cornerstone asset in a top-tier mining jurisdiction. For additional details, please refer to the announcement entitled "Centerra Gold Announces Mount Milligan Mine Life Extension and Additional Agreement with Royal Gold," issued on Feb. 14, 2024.

2024 outlook

Centerra's 2024 outlook and comparative actual results for 2023 are set out in the attached tables.

Project evaluation, exploration and other costs

The company's 2024 outlook for the Goldfield project, Kemess project, corporate administration, and other exploration projects and comparative actual results for 2023 are set out in the attached table.

Fourth quarter and full year 2023 operating and financial results and conference call

Centerra invites you to join its 2023 fourth quarter conference call on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Details for the conference call and webcast are included herein.

Webcast

An archive of the webcast will be available until the end of day on May 23, 2024.

Conference call

Participants can register for the conference call on-line. Upon registering, you will receive the dial-in details and a unique PIN to access the call. This process will bypass the live operator and avoid the queue. Registration will remain open until the end of the live conference call.

Participants who prefer to dial-in and speak with a live operator can access the call by dialling 1-800-319-4610 or 604-638-5340. It is recommended that you call 10 minutes before the scheduled start time.

After the call, an audio recording will be made available via telephone for one month, until the end of day March 23, 2024. The recording can be accessed by dialling 412-317-0088 or 1-855-669-9658 and using the pass code 0641. In addition, the webcast will be archived on Centerra's website.

Presentation slides will be available on Centerra's website.

For detailed information on the results contained within this release, please refer to the company's management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) and financial statements for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023, that are available on the company's website or SEDAR+.

About Centerra Gold Inc.

Centerra Gold is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey and other markets worldwide. Centerra operates two mines: the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Oksut mine in Turkey. The company also owns the Goldfield district project in Nevada, United States, the Kemess project in British Columbia, Canada, and owns and operates the molybdenum business unit in the United States and Canada. Centerra's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CG and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CGAU. The company is based in Toronto, Ont., Canada.

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