Sandfire Resources reported a more than threefold rise in underlying profit to $350 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, alongside record annual sales of $1.7 billion and underlying EBITDA of $867 million.
The company’s statutory profit reached $354 million, while its net cash position increased by $750 million over two years to $353 million, following full debt repayment. Underlying net finance expenses fell to $19.6 million from $44 million in the prior year, with an underlying effective tax rate of 34%. Total group expenditure rose 11% year-on-year to $230.6 million, while the gross profit margin stood at 48.43%. The current ratio was 1.05 and debt-to-equity at 0.48.
Sandfire declared a fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.35 per share, marking the first payout in more than four years. Franking credits available amounted to $226 million.
Asset-level performance showed Motheo delivering underlying EBITDA of $461 million, up 45%, on a 62% margin, with mill throughput reaching a record 6.1 million tons and copper equivalent production of 59.7 thousand tons. Underlying operating unit costs at Motheo rose 16% to $46 per ton, while implied C1 costs remained below $1.00 per pound of payable copper. MATSA posted underlying EBITDA of $499 million, a 71% increase, on a 55% margin, with operating unit costs at $89 per ton and implied C1 costs at $0.88 per pound of copper.
The company’s share price rose 7.46% in pre-market trading to $24.48, near its 52-week high of $25.00.
Outlook for the current fiscal year includes forecast copper output of about 52,000 tons at MATSA, with operating unit costs expected to rise by approximately $1 per ton at both Motheo and MATSA. Total capital expenditure is projected at $299 million, including $51 million allocated to the Kalkaroo project. Drilling activity is set to increase by 27% to 55 kilometers across the Iberian Pyrite and Kalahari Copper Belts.
Botswana’s revised tax legislation, effective July 1, 2026, introduces a 2.5% increase in the minimum tax rate and removes upfront capital deductions, with mine development expenditure deductible at the greater of 100% divided by expected years or 10% per annum.
Exploration results included a maiden ore reserve at Motheo’s A1 deposit of 5.6 million tons grading 0.91% copper and 7.4 grams per ton silver, extending mine life by approximately one year. Near-mine drilling at MATSA’s Magdalena West identified mineralization up to 200 meters west of the 2026 resource boundary.
Safety performance improved, with the company’s all injury frequency rate declining to 1.6 at June 30, though Sandfire reported its first-ever fatality during the year.
