Hochschild Mining Plc (LON:HOC) jumped on doubled profits though production guidance was trimmed again due to work on extending the mine life at Pallancata.
The FTSE 250-listed miner has ramped up exploration work at the gold and silver mine in Peru, which contributed to around a quarter of total production in 2019.
The new target for 2020 has been set at 422,000 gold equivalent ounces, down from 432,000 gold equivalent ounces announced in November.
READ: Hochschild cuts gold production guidance while costs rise
"We believe the trick in the year ahead will be balancing operational delivery with Pallancata drill results to extend its LOM while also keeping management’s growth ambitions in check," analysts at Peel Hunt said in a note.
The Peru-based group said 2019 was a “strong” year for precious metals, especially gold, driven by declining US interest rates and heightening geopolitical and global trade risk.
Average prices for gold and silver jumped 12% and 8% over the year, which boosted revenue by 7% to US$755mln for the year.
Allied to lower costs, the better sales meant profit before tax nearly doubled to US$76mln.
The proposed final dividend was hiked 19% to 2.335 cents per share.
Net debt was slashed by 57% to US$33mln, while cash at the end of the period was 52% higher at US$166mln.
Shares jumped 7% to 171.2p on Wednesday at the opening bell.
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