Royal Gold Reports Record Results for Third Quarter Fiscal 2012

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSX:RGL) today announced record
net income attributable to Royal Gold stockholders of $26.0 million, or
$0.44 per basic share, on record royalty revenue of $69.6 million for
the quarter ended March 31, 2012. This compares to net income
attributable to Royal Gold stockholders of $19.6 million, or $0.36 per
basic share, on royalty revenue of $55.5 million for the prior year
period.

For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2012, royalty revenue was
$202.9 million and net income attributable to Royal Gold stockholders
was $71.9 million, or $1.27 per basic share. This compares to royalty
revenue of $157.2 million and net income attributable to Royal Gold
stockholders of $49.7 million, or $0.90 per basic share, for the prior
nine-month period.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was
$63.6 million representing 91% of revenue, an increase of 30% compared
to Adjusted EBITDA of $48.9 million or 88% of revenue for the prior year
period. Cash flow from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2012
was $47.5 million, or $0.81 per basic share, compared with $41.0
million, or $0.74 per share, for the prior year period.

Quarterly royalty revenue increases were largely driven by increased
production from Andacollo, Voisey′s Bay and Mulatos, continued ramp up
at Peñasquito, Holt and Las Cruces, new production from Canadian
Malartic and higher average prices for gold and silver. The increase in
revenue was partially offset by lower production at Leeville when
compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2011. The average price of gold
for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, was $1,691 per ounce compared with
$1,386 per ounce for the comparable period, representing a 22% increase.

As of March 31, 2012, the Company had a working capital surplus of
$220.3 million. Current assets were $251.5 million (including $183.3
million in cash and equivalents), compared to current liabilities of
$31.2 million, resulting in a current ratio of approximately 8 to 1.
Total debt outstanding under the Company′s term loan was $114.4 million
as of March 31, 2012.

Tony Jensen, President and CEO, commented, 'These financial results mark
the fourth consecutive quarter for record royalty revenue and Adjusted
EBITDA, and the eighth consecutive quarter for record net income. These
results have been achieved by new and increasing production within our
portfolio of 38 producing assets and by strong precious metal prices. We
expect continued production increases at several of our producing assets
this calendar year, including Andacollo and Peñasquito. In addition,
construction at our two key growth properties, Pascua-Lama and Mt.
Milligan, remains on schedule and will enhance our long-term revenue
profile.?

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Updated Annual Reserves

At the end of calendar 2011, net reserves subject to the Company′s
interests, as reported by the operators of the properties, include 84.5
million ounces of goldand 1.2 billion ounces of silver. This
compares to 83.9 million ounces of gold and 1.4 billion ounces of silver
at the end of calendar 2010. The reduction in silver was due mainly to
production depletion and lower reserves at Peñasquito due to an increase
in operating costs.

Equity Offering

In January 2012, Royal Gold sold 4.0 million shares of Royal Gold common
stock to Goldman, Sachs & Co. in an underwritten at-the-market public
offering. The offering was made pursuant to the Company′s shelf
registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
('SEC?) and a shelf prospectus filed with certain Canadian securities
regulatory authorities. Proceeds to the Company from the offering were
$268.4 million, net of expenses.

Debt Repayment

During the quarter ended March 31, 2012, Royal Gold paid the $170
million outstanding under its revolving credit facility. The Company now
has $225 million available under this facility.

PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights at the Company′s principal producing properties provided by
the operators during the quarter ended March 31, 2012 are listed below:

Andacollo ? Current throughput is averaging 45,000 tonnes per
day. Teck is in the process of installing a two-stage crushing circuit
to increase throughput to 55,000 tonnes per day. Further circuit
configuration and economic evaluation for the expansion will be
undertaken based on the performance of the new crushing circuit during
the second and third calendar quarters of calendar 2012.

Canadian Malartic ? Osisko continues to advance the installation
of two cone crushers to achieve mill throughput of 50,000 tonnes per
day. They reported that construction and installation of the first
crusher is complete and commissioning is underway. The second cone
crusher is expected to arrive on site in June 2012.

Cortez ? Barrick continued to prioritize production from their
higher grade Cortez Hills operations that is not covered by our royalty
interest. As a result, production decreased during the period. Royal
Gold expects production to remain at these lower levels until Barrick
returns to steady state mining at the Pipeline Complex.

Dolores ? Pan American Silver completed an acquisition of
Minefinders during the quarter and now operates the Dolores mine. Pan
American is continuing to study the possibility of adding a mill to the
Dolores operation and stated that further work is needed in order to
define the optimum size and cost for the mill.

Holt ? St Andrew Goldfields ('SAS?) reported that first quarter
production was in line with their expectations. Development of the
project has progressed to enable an average mine production rate of
1,000 tonnes per day in the second quarter of calendar 2012. With the
expected ramp up, SAS is projecting higher levels of production in the
latter half of the year.

Las Cruces ?Inmet reported that the plant achieved record
production of 10,300 tonnes of copper cathode in the first two months of
2012 and that March production was lower due to scheduled maintenance.
For calendar 2012, Inmet expects Las Cruces to achieve approximately 90%
of design capacity.

Leeville ? A portion of the mine production at Leeville was
derived from an area outside of our royalty area of interest. As a
result, our royalty revenue decreased over the prior period.

Mulatos ? Alamos reported that an overhaul of the crusher allowed
for increased throughput during the latter half of the first quarter
averaging 17,000 tonnes per day in the month of March. Alamos expects to
produce 200,000 to 220,000 ounces of gold in calendar 2012, representing
an increase of approximately 37% over calendar 2011 production. This
increase is due to the addition of a gravity mill that was commissioned
during the quarter.

Peñasquito ? Goldcorp reported that the high pressure grinding
roll supplemental ore feed system was successfully commissioned,
positioning the mine to achieve its design processing capacity. With
this increased throughput, Goldcorp expects to produce 425,000 ounces of
gold in calendar 2012, an increase of 67% over the prior calendar year,
with associated increases in silver, lead and zinc.

Robinson ?A subsidiary of KGHM Polska Mied? S.A. ('KGHM?)
completed the acquisition of Quadra FNX Mining during the quarter and
now operates the Robinson mine. KGHM is evaluating opportunities to
increase production and extend the mine life at Robinson.

Voisey′s Bay ? Nickel sales were strong during the period
primarily due to an increase in nickel concentrate shipments.
Variability in Vale′s shipping schedule will continue to be reflected in
uneven metal sales quarter-over-quarter.

Highlights at the Company′s principal development properties provided by
the operators during the quarter ended March 31, 2012 are as follows:

Mt. Milligan ? Thompson Creek reported that as of December 31,
2011, project construction is 33% complete and that overall engineering,
procurement, construction and management progress is 53% complete.
Thompson Creek announced during the quarter that capital costs at Mt.
Milligan may be 10% to 20% higher than the previous estimate and is
currently estimating approximately C$1.4 to C$1.5 billion to construct
and develop the project. They have stated that the project remains on
schedule with production expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Pascua-Lama ? Barrick reported that approximately 70% of the
projected capital costs of $4.7 to $5.0 billion have been committed, as
of March 31, 2012. They reiterated that they expect gold production to
commence in mid-2013, with expected annual production of 800,000 to
850,000 ounces in the first full five years of operation. Barrick noted
that the project was being impacted by increased labor and commodity
cost pressures and that they intend to complete a detailed capital cost
and schedule review during the second quarter of calendar 2012.

Production and revenue for the Company′s principal interests for the
quarter ended March 31, 2012 are shown in Table 1. For more detailed
information about each of our principal properties, please refer to the
Company′s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC and
available on the SEC′s website located at www.sec.gov,
or our website located at www.royalgold.com.

CORPORATE PROFILE

Royal Gold is a precious metals royalty company engaged in the
acquisition and management of precious metal royalties and similar
interests. The Company′s current portfolio consists of 193 properties on
six continents, including interests on 38 producing mines and 25
development stage projects. Royal Gold is publicly traded on the NASDAQ
Global Select Market under the symbol 'RGLD,? and on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol 'RGL.? The Company′s website is located at www.royalgold.com.

Note: Management′s conference call reviewing the third quarter
results will be held todayat 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time (noon
Eastern Time) and will be available by calling (800) 603-2779 (North
America) or (973) 200-3960(international), access # 42041657.
The call will be simultaneously broadcast on the Company′s website at www.royalgold.com
under the 'Presentations? section. A replay of this webcast will be
available on the Company′s website approximately two hours after the
call ends.

Cautionary 'Safe Harbor? Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical
matters, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from projections or estimates contained
herein. Such forward-looking statements include statements about the
Company′s future growth; further production increases at Andacollo,
Peñasquito, Mulatos, Holt, Las Cruces and Canadian Malartic; the
construction schedule at Pascua-Lama and Mt. Milligan; the Company′s
long-term revenue profile; and the operators′ expectation of
construction, ramp up, production, mine life and other developments at
various mines. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the projections include, among others, precious metals,
copper and nickel prices; performance of and production at the Company's
royalty properties; decisions and activities of the operators of the
Company's royalty properties; unanticipated grade, geological,
metallurgical, processing or other problems the operators of the mining
properties may encounter; completion of feasibility studies; delays in
the operators securing or their inability to secure necessary
governmental permits; changes in operators′ project parameters as plans
continue to be refined; economic and market conditions; the ability of
the various operators to bring projects into production as expected; and
other subsequent events; as well as other factors described in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these
factors are beyond the Company′s ability to predict or control. The
Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement
made herein. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.

¹ The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial
measure, as net income plus depreciation, depletion and amortization,
non-cash charges, income tax expense, interest and other expense, and
any impairment of mining assets, less non-controlling interests in
operating income from consolidated subsidiaries, interest and other
income, and any royalty portfolio restructuring gains or losses (see
Schedule A).

FOOTNOTES

¹ Reported production relates to the amount of metal
sales that are subject to our royalty interests for the quarters ended
March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011, as reported to us by the operators of
the mines.

² The royalty rate is 75% until 910,000 payable ounces of
gold have been produced; 50% thereafter. There have been approximately
86,000 cumulative payable ounces produced as of March 31, 2012. Gold is
produced as a by-product of copper.

³ Revenues consist of provisional payments for concentrates
produced during the current period and final settlements for prior
production periods.

⁴ Reported production for the three months ended March 31,
2012, was estimated based on annual guidance provided by the operator.
The Company′s royalty is subject to a 2.0 million ounce cap on gold
production. There have been approximately 855,000 ounces of cumulative
production, as of March 31, 2012. NSR sliding-scale schedule (price of
gold per ounce ? royalty rate): $0.00 to $299.99 ? 1.0%; $300 to $324.99
? 1.50%; $325 to $349.99 ? 2.0%; $350 to $374.99 ? 3.0%; $375 to $399.99
? 4.0%; $400 or higher ? 5.0%.

⁵ Royalty percentages: GSR1 and GSR2 ? 0.40 to 5.0%
(sliding-scale); GSR3 ? 0.71%; NVR1 ? 0.39%.

⁶ NSR sliding-scale schedule (price of gold per ounce ?
royalty rate): $0.00 to $350 ? 1.0%; above $350 ? 1.5%.

⁷ The Canadian Malartic royalty commenced production in the
second calendar quarter of 2011.

⁸ 'Other? includes all of the Company′s non-principal
producing royalties for the quarters ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.
Individually, no royalty included within 'Other? contributed greater
than 5% of our total royalty revenue for either period.

SCHEDULE A

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company computes and discloses Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a
non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined by the Company as
net income plus depreciation, depletion and amortization, non-cash
charges, income tax expense, interest and other expense, and any
impairment of mining assets, less non-controlling interests in operating
income of consolidated subsidiaries, interest and other income, and any
royalty portfolio restructuring gains or losses. Other companies may
define and calculate this measure differently. Management believes that
Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of the performance of our royalty
portfolio. Adjusted EBITDA identifies the cash generated in a given
period that will be available to fund the Company's future operations,
growth opportunities, shareholder dividends and to service the Company's
debt obligations. This information differs from measures of performance
determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles ('GAAP?) and should not be considered in isolation or as a
substitute for measures of performance determined in accordance with
U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA, as defined, is most directly comparable to
net income in the Company's Statements of Operations. Below is the
reconciliation to net income:

Royal Gold, Inc.

Karen Gross

Vice President and Corporate
Secretary

303-575-6504