OceanaGold Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

What we drew from this source

The claims Via News extracted from this document. We point to the source; we don't replace it.

• The first half of 2026 will focus on resource-to-reserve conversion at Wharekirauponga, with a plan for more than 30 drill holes targeting 300,000 ounces of reserves

  80% confidence

• Total growth and exploration capital is planned to rise to $340 million in 2026, about 2.5 times 2025 levels

  80% confidence

• The company ended the period in its strongest net cash position to date, with zero debt and cash of $477 million, up 42% from the prior quarter

  80% confidence

• 2026 guidance implies higher production and lower AISC, alongside increased spending on value-accretive capital projects

  80% confidence

• Full-year AISC at Didipio came in around the top end of the guided range

  80% confidence

• The company recorded record average realized gold price of just over $4,200 per ounce in Q4

  80% confidence

• The mine plan is expected to produce above 200,000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031

  80% confidence

• An illustrative slide assumes a $4,700 gold price and implies about a 40% payout ratio using guidance midpoints and a reasonable gold price assumption

  80% confidence

• The company signed earn-in agreements in 2025 with Headwater Gold in Nevada and Carolina Rush in South Carolina

  80% confidence

• Q4 represented the strongest production quarter of the year, with increased production from all four operating sites

  80% confidence

• In the second half, the team will follow up what appears to be a new higher-grade zone to the south with eight drill holes targeting growth of 150,000 ounces of inferred resources

  80% confidence

• Moving Ledbetter from open pit to underground would require a minor permit modification

  80% confidence

• Using the midpoint of guidance, the company expects to produce 12% more gold than in 2025 at a 7% lower AISC

  80% confidence

• OceanaGold safely delivered 2025 guidance for production, all-in sustaining costs (AISC), and capital

  80% confidence

• Didipio met production guidance and in Q4 produced approximately 24,000 ounces of gold and 3,200 tons of copper

  80% confidence

• Record free cash flow of $259 million exceeded the company's total free cash flow generated in all of 2024

  80% confidence

• The cash increase came despite more than $100 million returned to shareholders in Q4 through dividends and buybacks

  80% confidence

• Q4 was the strongest quarter of the year at Waihi at just under 22,000 ounces

  80% confidence

• Results were achieved at an average realized gold price of around $3,500 an ounce, which was below current spot levels at the time of the call

  80% confidence

• Investments in mine resilience, including underground pumping infrastructure, helped keep operations running through extreme weather events at Didipio

  80% confidence

• Macraes produced 56,000 ounces in Q4, aided by access to higher-grade open-pit ore following waste stripping at Innes Mills earlier in 2025

  80% confidence

• Final permits for Waihi North were received in Q4, and the company expects to start the underground decline toward Wharekirauponga by mid-2026

  80% confidence

• The board approved a tripling of the quarterly dividend and a doubling of the share buyback for 2026, resulting in up to $432 million of total shareholder returns—an increase of 112% year-over-year

  80% confidence

• The growth in 2026 production is driven primarily by Haile, where guidance reflects a 35% increase in output

  80% confidence

• Front-end engineering is commencing now and development would take about two years, starting sometime next year, with first development ore toward the back end of 2029 and sustainable ore production from 2030 onward

  80% confidence

• The company's M&A strategy has not changed and inorganic opportunities remain an option, though not a priority focus

  80% confidence

• An updated technical report is scheduled for release at the end of March and will outline mining the next phase of Ledbetter from underground, which improves margins and overall net present value

  80% confidence

• An updated technical report for Didipio is expected in the first half of the year to detail remaining work to reach sustained mining rates and to provide an updated life-of-mine plan

  80% confidence

• OceanaGold set annual records for EBITDA, EBITDA margins, net profit, earnings per share, operating cash flow, and free cash flow

  80% confidence

• Adjusted EPS included roughly a $0.26 per share impact from share-based compensation in Q4

  80% confidence