Cost control is effective: Newman Mining (NEM.US) Q2 profits exceed expectations, reaffirms full-year production target.

Despite a slight decrease in gold prices and the impact of earthquakes, Newman Mining (NEM.US) announced second-quarter profits higher than expected thanks to effective cost control. The financial report shows that the company's second-quarter revenue was $6.12 billion, a 15.0% increase year-on-year, $190 million less than expected; adjusted earnings per share were $2.10, exceeding expectations by $0.12. Although revenue was slightly below expectations, net profit may be more important to investors. However, the stock still fell by 1% to $93.75 in after-hours trading. At the end of the second quarter, the spot price of gold broke through $4000 per ounce, higher than around $3300 a year ago. Newman Mining's average realized gold price in the quarter was $4414, higher than $3320 in the second quarter of 2025, but lower than $4900 in the first quarter. Production costs per ounce increased slightly both month-on-month and year-on-year, mainly due to a decrease in production. However, the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) per ounce was $1621, lower than the company's full-year guidance of $1680 per ounce. Newman Mining produced 1.29 million ounces of gold in the quarter, lower than 1.30 million ounces in the first quarter and 1.48 million ounces in the same period last year. An earthquake in Australia in April affected production at Newman Mining's Cadia mine. Production has now resumed. More importantly, the company still expects to achieve its production target of 5.30 million ounces this year. CEO Natasha Viljoen said, "Newman Mining has delivered strong operational and financial performance again...generating a record $2.2 billion in second-quarter free cash flow,." "Since our last earnings call, we have returned $1.9 billion to shareholders through quarterly dividends and ongoing share repurchases, supported by our strong balance sheet and consistent capital allocation framework." In recent quarters, the company has repurchased over $4 billion worth of shares. Since 2024, the total shares outstanding have decreased by more than 100 million. As of the end of the first quarter, Newman Mining had approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding. Viljoen took over as CEO this year. Before joining Newman Mining in 2023, she managed Anglo American Platinum. For her, the core tasks include improving efficiency while continuing to integrate the acquisitions of Newcrest Mining and Goldcorp. Newman Mining acquired Newcrest in 2023 and merged with Goldcorp in 2019. Higher production and robust cost control in the second half of the year should give investors some confidence that she is making progress towards achieving these goals. Newman Mining reiterated its expectation to achieve its full-year gold production guidance for 2026, which is 5.30 million ounces of attributable gold production. The company expects gold production in the third quarter of 2026 to be largely in line with the second quarter. As the gold production of multiple operating projects is still mainly concentrated in the fourth quarter, unit costs in the third quarter are expected to rise.