By  Paul Ploumis 12 Aug 2015  Last updated at  05:41:59 GMT

(Kitco News) - Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX, NYSE: SLW), a Vancouver-based silver streaming company, reported a smaller profit in the second quarter Tuesday but also listed record silver-equivalent production and sales volume.

As is the case with producers in general, the company’s bottom line was impacted by lower prices received for precious metals compared to a year ago.

Net earnings were listed at $53.7 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with $63.5 million, or 18 cents, in the second quarter of 2014.

The company said it achieved record silver-equivalent production of 10.9 million ounces (7.2 million ounces of silver and 50,500 ounces of gold), an increase of 29% from silver-equivalent production of 8.5 million ounces in the year-ago quarter. Silver-equivalent sales volume was a record 10 million ounces (5.6 million ounces of silver and 61,000 ounces of gold), up 34% from 7.5 million ounces in the same period last year.

However, the average realized sale price per silver-equivalent ounce sold in the second quarter declined 17% to $16.38 ($16.42 per ounce of silver and $1,195 per ounce of gold). The silver-equivalent-ounceprice was $19.83 in the second quarter of 2014.

Silver Wheaton reported that its board of directors declared its third quarterly cash dividend payment for 2015 of 5 cents per common share. This will be paid to shareholders as of the close of business on Aug. 26 and will be distributed around Sept. 4.

Production hit a record level for the second straight quarter, said Randy Smallwood, president and chief executive officer of Silver Wheaton.

“To provide some context, in the first half of 2015 we produced over 21 million silver-equivalent ounces, whereas in 2011 the company produced just over 25 million ounces for the whole year,” he said. The company  is “delivering on our 2015 production growth guidance of over 20% and reiterate that this growth is fully funded," he added.

Meanwhile, in early July, Silver Wheaton reported that it received a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency proposing to reassess the company under various income-tax rules. The company also said, however, that it paid applicable taxes in compliance with Canadian law and plans to defend its tax-filing position. Nevertheless, the company said, the CRA position would mean that taxable Canadian income would be increased for the 2005 to 2010 tax years by approximately C$715 million. Further, there would be penalties and there could be ramifications for tax years after 2010.

"Events subsequent to the quarter, including the sell-off in the precious metals markets and the receipt of the proposal from the CRA, have been unfortunate; however, we remain confident in our business structure and will defend our tax filing positions vigorously,” Smallwood said. “We do not anticipate any changes to our business operations, and we look forward to continued production growth in the second half of this year. Furthermore, we currently see a robust pipeline of very high quality corporate development opportunities."

Courtesy: Kitco News