Hochschild Mining PLC (LSE:HOC, OTCQX:HCHDF) shares jumped nearly 7% on Wednesday after the precious metals miner more than doubled first-half earnings and quadrupled its interim dividend.
The shares traded as high as 668.57p, around 6.9% above Tuesday’s 625.5p close.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 119% to $491.5 million in the six months to 30 June from US$224.5 million a year earlier, broadly in line with Peel Hunt’s expectations.
Revenue increased 62% to $844.4 million, while profit before tax climbed to $365.8 million from $109.3 million.
Basic earnings per share increased to $0.37 from $0.12, with Peel Hunt noting that first-half EPS alone was higher than Hochschild’s previous record annual figure.
The miner also lifted its interim dividend to 4 US cents per share from 1 cent a year earlier.
Peel Hunt retained its Buy recommendation and 745p price target. The broker said San Jose made a particularly strong contribution to the improvement in EBITDA, although higher tax and minority interest charges limited the benefit at the earnings-per-share level.
Hochschild maintained its 2026 production guidance of 300,000 to 328,000 gold equivalent ounces and reiterated capital expenditure guidance of around $210-$225 million.
However, all-in sustaining cost guidance was raised to $2,380-$2,500 per gold equivalent ounce from $2,157-$2,320 previously, reflecting higher royalties and stronger local currencies against the US dollar.
Peel Hunt remains positive on the company’s growth pipeline.
Submission of the modified environmental impact assessment for Royropata marks a key step towards development, with the broker expecting first production from permitted areas in 2028.
A final investment decision on Monte Do Carmo is expected in December.
Peel Hunt believes the two projects could lift group EBITDA from $584 million in 2025 to more than $1.2 billion by 2029, growth it argues is not reflected in the current share price.
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