So what does Brian Quast of CIBC think of the Fortuna Silver (FVI.to) (FSM) 4q11 numbers and 2012 guidance?

You heard it from IKN before the bell today, but eventually even those slow, creaking web 1.0 machines known as Canadian brokerages get round to the facts (they got legal depts to get past, y'see). Here's the CIBC update report PDF on Fortuna Silver (FVI.to) (FSM) and here below are the top page bullets. Click through for more and the house price target (which I'm down with personally):

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.

Things Just Keep Getting Better

• Fortuna Silver announced production results for Q4/11 that were ahead of our expectations on all fronts. Production of 913k oz. silver, 3.5k oz. gold, 4.4MM lbs. lead and 5.7MM lbs. zinc was well ahead of our estimates of 794k oz. silver, 3.1k oz. gold, 4.4MM lbs. lead, and 5.7MM lbs. zinc.
• Cash costs were also well ahead of our estimates, coming in at $5.11/oz., against our estimate of $2.86/oz., mostly due to cost inflation at the Caylloma mine in Peru. We expect this to be a theme with Latin American silver producers that will play out throughout 2012.
• 2012 guidance was also very strong, and well above our expectations. Guidance of 3.7MM oz. silver, 17k oz. gold, 18MM lbs. lead and 21MM lbs. zinc exceeded our 2012 estimate of 3.4MM oz. silver, 14k oz. gold, 14MM lbs. lead and 23MM lbs. zinc.
• When we adjust our model for increased production and increased costs, our cash flow estimates move very little. Therefore, our price target of $9 and Sector Outperformer rating are maintained. Fortuna continues to operate well and should continue to be rewarded.

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