OceanaGold Q4 Earnings Call Highlights
View original at finance.yahoo.comOceanaGold Q4 Earnings Call Highlights OceanaGold logo Key Points OceanaGold delivered a record 2025 with expanded margins and cash generation — including adjusted EBITDA up 49%, record free cash flow of $259 million, and a strongest-ever balance sheet with zero debt and $477 million in cash…
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Haile produced 56,000 ounces in Q4, its planned highest quarter of 2025
80% confidenceFinal permits for Waihi North were received in Q4, and the company expects to start the underground decline toward Wharekirauponga by mid-2026
80% confidenceOceanaGold has its highest ever exploration budget in 2026, with increased spending at all four sites and a renewed greenfields focus
80% confidenceThe company will double the number of rigs operating at Wharekirauponga following New Zealand government approval
80% confidence2025 cash costs and EBITDA included accounting allocations related to capitalized sustaining waste stripping at Haile and Macraes, translating to about a $70 per ounce increase in cash costs for the year, without affecting AISC or free cash flow
80% confidenceWaihi exceeded production guidance and met AISC guidance for 2025
80% confidenceThe growth in 2026 production is driven primarily by Haile, where guidance reflects a 35% increase in output
80% confidenceFront-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% confidenceThe company's M&A strategy has not changed and inorganic opportunities remain an option, though not a priority focus
80% confidenceHaile's unit costs are expected to decline 25% year-over-year
80% confidenceHorseshoe Underground decline advance is a full year ahead of mine sequence
80% confidenceTotal growth and exploration capital is planned to rise to $340 million in 2026, about 2.5 times 2025 levels
80% confidenceQ4 was the strongest quarter of the year at Waihi at just under 22,000 ounces
80% confidenceResults 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% confidenceAn 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% confidenceThe company signed earn-in agreements in 2025 with Headwater Gold in Nevada and Carolina Rush in South Carolina
80% confidenceInvestments in mine resilience, including underground pumping infrastructure, helped keep operations running through extreme weather events at Didipio
80% confidenceMoving Ledbetter from open pit to underground would require a minor permit modification
80% confidenceQ4 AISC at Macraes was under $1,300 per ounce, down materially from Q3
80% confidenceUsing the midpoint of guidance, the company expects to produce 12% more gold than in 2025 at a 7% lower AISC
80% confidenceThe company could consider increasing the buyback if operating performance and gold prices allow, similar to 2025
80% confidenceDidipio AISC is expected to improve slightly, largely due to higher copper by-product credits
80% confidenceAll four sites increased production in Q4 and each met its production guidance for the year
80% confidenceRecord free cash flow of $259 million exceeded the company's total free cash flow generated in all of 2024
80% confidenceThe 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% confidence2026 guidance implies higher production and lower AISC, alongside increased spending on value-accretive capital projects
80% confidenceFull-year AISC at Didipio came in around the top end of the guided range
80% confidenceThe cash increase came despite more than $100 million returned to shareholders in Q4 through dividends and buybacks
80% confidenceThe company recorded record average realized gold price of just over $4,200 per ounce in Q4
80% confidenceThe mine plan is expected to produce above 200,000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031
80% confidence