Hochschild Mining PLC (LSE:HOC) reported record financial results for the first half of 2026, with net profit attributable to shareholders surging 208% year-over-year to $189.7 million amid a 47% increase in realized gold prices to $4,166 per ounce. Revenue rose 62% to $844.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $492 million, according to a company presentation dated August 26, 2026.
The London-listed miner’s earnings per share reached $0.37, though this missed analyst expectations by 17.78%, while revenue fell short of estimates by 4.48%. Free cash flow totaled $156 million in the period, excluding debt repayments and dividends, and the company shifted from a net debt position of $20 million at year-end 2025 to a net cash position of $51 million. An interim dividend of 4.0 cents per share was declared, a 300% increase from the prior year’s payout.
Production for the half-year totaled 151,830 gold equivalent ounces, with the company maintaining its full-year guidance of 300,000–328,000 ounces, split 73% gold and 27% silver. All-in sustaining costs rose 30% to $2,448 per ounce, prompting a revision to full-year guidance to $2,380–$2,500 per ounce, up from the prior $2,100–$2,300 range.
Cost pressures varied by asset. At Inmaculada in Peru, AISC reached $2,125–$2,205 per ounce, driven by lower grades, increased worker profit-sharing, and foreign exchange impacts, though the Peruvian sol’s average exchange rate of 3.36 per dollar was more favorable than the budgeted 3.65. San Jose faced higher royalties and export taxes tied to rising metal prices, while Mara Rosa’s AISC climbed to $3,551 per ounce due to lower volumes, capex for plant upgrades, and a transition to the Fagundes mining contractor. Approximately 60% of the AISC increase stemmed from higher metal prices driving royalties and profit-sharing, with the remainder attributed to FX movements and local inflation.
The company’s growth pipeline includes the Royropata project in Peru’s Ayacucho region, where a modified environmental impact assessment has been filed and community agreements secured. Production is targeted to begin in 2028 with an expected output of over 100,000 ounces annually. The Monte do Carmo project in Brazil’s Tocantins state, acquired in 2024 for $60 million, remains on track for a final investment decision by year-end 2026, with detailed engineering slated for completion by mid-2027 and startup expected in late 2028.
Hochschild also highlighted operational improvements, including a 110% increase in daily processing rates at Mara Rosa to 6,300 tons in July–August, up from 3,000–3,400 tons in late 2025, with a target of at least 7,000 tons per day for the remainder of 2026. The miner reported a lost-time injury frequency rate of 0.85 in Q2 2026 and achieved a 5.95 out of 6 ECO Score in the same period, alongside 82% waste recycling and 100% renewable energy sourcing at San Jose and Mara Rosa.
The company’s valuation metrics remain below peer averages, with a 2027 EV/EBITDA multiple of 3.7x and a P/E ratio of 7.3x, compared to peer ranges of 5.8x–12.2x and 9.8x–19.5x, respectively.
