Perseus Mining Lifts Dividend, Keeps Nyanzaga on Track for First Gold in 2027
Perseus Mining (TSE:PRU) ended fiscal 2026 with higher revenue, profit and operating cash flow, and investors are set to receive a much larger share of the gains. The stronger realized gold price supported the improvement and helped the company maintain a debt-free balance sheet while continuing to fund growth projects.
In the company's annual-results webinar, chief executive Jeff Craig said Perseus met production and cost guidance for the year, producing 405,000 ounces of gold at an all-in site cost of A$1,750 an ounce. Realized gold prices averaged A$3,693 an ounce, a gain of A$1,150 an ounce over the previous year, leaving an average cash margin of A$1,943 an ounce.
Perseus exited the year with net cash and bullion of more than US$1 billion and total liquidity of US$1.4 billion, including US$400 million of undrawn debt capacity. The company also confirmed that the CMA Underground project reached first production in April, while Nyanzaga remains on schedule for first gold in January 2027.
Chief financial officer Lee-Anne de Bruin said group revenue rose 19% year over year to US$1.5 billion. The improvement was driven mainly by the stronger metal price, which offset lower output at Yaouré and Edikan as both operations transitioned to new ore sources. Those new open-pit sources had higher waste concentrations and lower overall grades, adding to production costs, while royalty expenses also increased.
Government royalty changes added another headwind. Côte d'Ivoire raised its royalty rate by two percentage points when gold prices are above US$2,000 an ounce, and Ghana introduced a scaled royalty regime in March 2026. Despite those pressures, Perseus reported EBITDA of US$860 million, up 16% from fiscal 2025. Profit before tax rose 27% to US$716 million, while profit after tax increased 14%. De Bruin said the after-tax figure grew more slowly because higher profitability led to increased taxes paid in host countries, and Yaouré's five-year tax holiday ended in December 2025.
Perseus also retained listed investments in Predictive and Aurum valued at US$233 million as of June 30.
The board declared a final dividend of A$0.09 per share, up from A$0.05 in the prior year. That brings the full-year dividend to A$0.14 per share, or A$187 million, an 87% increase from fiscal 2025. Total shareholder returns for the year reached A$218 million, including dividends and share repurchases. After completing A$126 million of buybacks, the board raised the buyback program to A$350 million.
Perseus is also considering an A$100 million distribution from proceeds of the sale of the Meyas Sand Gold Project in Sudan. De Bruin said the payout could be structured as a special dividend, a return of capital, or a combination of both, depending on consultations with the Australian Taxation Office and any required shareholder approval.
Under a revised dividend policy, the company will target a sustainable dividend of at least 20% of net cash flow from operating activities after dividends paid to non-controlling government shareholders. The board may also consider supplemental dividends, buybacks or capital returns when balance-sheet capacity exceeds growth funding needs.
On Nyanzaga, Perseus said the project was 67% complete at the end of June and remained on budget. More than 3,800 workers are on site, with construction focused on the processing facility, tailings dam, water infrastructure and power systems. Pre-stripping has begun at the Kilimani and Tusker deposits, with 1.2 million bank cubic meters moved by June 30. The company now expects to move more than 7 million bank cubic meters before first gold, compared with the original plan of 4.6 million. Management said this will add US$20 million to US$30 million of pre-production mining expenditure, but the mine's capital development remains within its original budget because the work is being brought forward.
Nyanzaga hosts roughly 4.1 million ounces of proved and probable reserves and 4.7 million ounces of measured and indicated resources. Across the group, measured and indicated resources increased 37% to 10.6 million ounces, while proved and probable reserves rose 40% to 7 million ounces. Perseus said it replaced mining depletion at Sissingué and increased reserves at the Yaouré open pit and Edikan. At Edikan, planned cutbacks and optimization are expected to extend the mine life to 2031 from roughly fiscal 2028.
For fiscal 2027, Perseus maintained production guidance of 420,000 to 480,000 ounces at all-in site costs of US$1,835 to US$2,070 an ounce. The guidance covers the company's three operating mines and excludes Nyanzaga until it reaches commercial production. Growth capital is expected to be about US$530 million, including final-stage Nyanzaga development, the CMA Underground ramp-up and strategic cutbacks at Edikan. Exploration spending is planned at US$70 million to US$80 million, roughly double last year's level, with drilling programs focused on Yaouré, Edikan and Sissingué.
Perseus said it will maintain a minimum liquidity target of US$500 million while balancing growth investment, sustaining capital requirements and shareholder returns.
The stronger earnings give management room to step up shareholder returns without affecting the Nyanzaga build, but the royalty increases in two operating countries are a reminder that host governments are taking a larger share of windfall gold prices.
Perseus Mining is engaged in the exploration, evaluation, development and mining of gold properties in West Africa. Its principal operations include the Sissingué and Yaouré mines in Côte d'Ivoire and the Edikan mine in Ghana.