Royal Gold Inc., a Denver-based precious metals royalty company, reported record second-quarter 2012 profits on Friday due to increased mineral production and high gold prices but missed analyst expectations.

For the three months ended in December, the company posted net income of $23.4 million,or 42 cents per share, compared with $18.3 million, or 33 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Sales rose to $68.8 million from $56.3 million.

We are pleased to have recorded another solid quarter of financial results, said Tony Jensen, president and CEO of Royal Gold. This marks the third consecutive quarter of record revenue and net income for Royal Gold as our growth profile continues to deliver financial results.

Royal Gold buys the rights to own the royalties of mines across the globe. It's revenue depends on mines' productivity, and in the past quarter its earnings were largely driven from its interest in the Andacollo and Voisey's Bay mines. The company is also continuing its ramp up of improvements to several other mines, which will increase its gold and silver throughput by the end of this year.

The high price of gold and silver helped fill the company's coffers. This past quarter the average price of gold for the second fiscal quarter was $1,688 per ounce compared with $1,367 per ounce for the comparable period, representing a 23 percent increase.

The company's growth was also propelled by an equity offering conducted in mid-January, which brought in $268.4 million.

In after-hours trading, Royal Gold's stock was up 53 cents or 0.73 percent, trading at $74.02.

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