Kinross Gold Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Kinross Gold NYSE: KGC executives told investors the company delivered what CEO Paul Rollinson described as “another strong year” in 2025, supported by stable operations, record free cash flow, and balance sheet strengthening. Management also reaffirmed a multi-year production outlook of roughly 2 million ounces annually, while flagging higher costs in 2026 driven mainly by royalties and inflation.

Kinross produced “just over 2 million ounces” in 2025 and achieved its cost guidance, Rollinson said. He noted that margins expanded 66% versus a 43% increase in the gold price, which he said helped drive record free cash flow.

Andrea Freeborough, who reviewed quarterly and full-year financials, said fourth-quarter production was 484,000 ounces. Fourth-quarter cost of sales was $1,289 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) were $1,825 per ounce, which she said were higher versus the prior quarter as expected due to higher gold prices and lower planned production related to mine sequencing.

For the full year, Freeborough reported cost of sales of $1,135 per ounce and AISC of $1,571 per ounce, “in line with guidance, despite the impact from higher royalties.” She also reported:

Rollinson said the company returned about $1.5 billion of capital to “debt and equity holders” during 2025 and ended the year with about $1 billion of net cash.

Freeborough said 2025 cash flow supported $700 million of debt repayments and a higher cash balance. She said Kinross repaid the remaining $200 million term loan used to fund the Great Bear acquisition in the first quarter and redeemed $500 million of 2027 senior notes in December.

By year-end, the company had $1.7 billion in cash, about $3.5 billion of total liquidity, and net cash of about $1 billion, with no near-term maturities. Freeborough said the remaining debt maturities are $500 million due in 2033 and $250 million due in 2041.

She also noted two financing updates completed in December: Moody’s upgraded Kinross’ credit rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and the company renewed its $1.5 billion revolving credit facility, restoring its five-year term.

Management highlighted Tasiast and Paracatu as core contributors. Rollinson said the two mines produced about 1.1 million ounces in 2025, representing more than half of total production, and that Tasiast was the company’s highest-margin operation in the portfolio.

Chief Operating Officer Claude Schimper provided additional mine-by-mine details and 2026 expectations:

On labor relations, Schimper said the company signed a five-year collective labor agreement at Tasiast and a two-year agreement at La Coipa in December. In the Q&A, management said it is working through contract negotiations at Paracatu in Brazil.

Rollinson said Kinross is reaffirming a stable multi-year production profile, maintaining guidance of about 2 million ounces in both 2026 and 2027 and adding a new year of 2 million ounces in 2028. He said higher-grade U.S. projects are expected to come online in 2028, coinciding with higher-grade mining at Tasiast, which management expects to help offset cost inflation through grade enhancement.

Freeborough said 2026 production is expected to be relatively evenly split through the year, at roughly 490,000 to 510,000 ounces per quarter. For costs, she guided to $1,360 per ounce for cost of sales and $1,730 per ounce for AISC at a gold price of $4,500 per ounce.

Freeborough said the roughly 10% expected increase in AISC versus 2025 is driven by:

She also addressed a larger year-over-year increase in cash costs, attributing it partly to the accounting characterization of stripping costs shifting from sustaining capital into operating costs at some assets, with “very small impact” on AISC as a result.

Capital expenditures are expected to rise, with Freeborough guiding to $1.5 billion of total CapEx in 2026, including about $1.05 billion of non-sustaining capital and $450 million of sustaining capital. She said the increase reflects inflation and higher investment to extend mine lives and support production later in the decade. Kinross expects 2027 and 2028 capital spending to be approximately in line with 2026, subject to inflation and potential additional projects.

Freeborough said Kinross is targeting returning about 40% of free cash flow to shareholders in 2026 through dividends and buybacks. She said the company is increasing its dividend by $0.02 per share annually (a 14% increase), following a 17% increase announced in the fourth quarter, for a total increase of 33%.

In the Q&A, Rollinson said the dividend is intended as a “baseline” and that the “bulk” of capital returns will come via share repurchases, which management said investors often prefer and which reduces share count. Freeborough said the company expects to start executing its share buyback program “next week.”

Freeborough also cautioned that the first quarter is typically a higher cash outflow period due to annual tax payments in Brazil and Mauritania and semiannual interest payments. During Q&A, she said the company expects to pay over $400 million of taxes in Q1, largely related to 2025.

Rollinson said the company is proceeding with construction of three “high-quality organic growth projects” in the U.S. that will extend mine life and improve long-term costs. Will Dunford said these projects—Phase X at Round Mountain, Curlew, and Redbird 2 at Bald Mountain—are expected to come online in 2028 and were described as having quick paybacks of less than two years, an average AISC of $1,660 per ounce, and a combined NPV of $4.3 billion and IRR of 59% at $4,500 gold.

On Great Bear, Dunford said the AEX surface construction is 80% complete and detailed engineering for the main project is about 35% complete, with procurement and long-lead manufacturing expected to progress. Geoff Gold said Kinross anticipates receiving the two remaining AEX permits and starting construction of the exploration decline by Q2.

Gold also discussed Great Bear’s designation under Ontario’s “One Project, One Process” framework, saying it should streamline and integrate the provincial permitting component and provide a single point of contact to coordinate authorizations and First Nations consultation. He said the company has been in touch with Canada’s Federal Major Projects Office but has chosen not to apply for a federal designation at this time, citing progress in the federal impact assessment process. Management reiterated its target of first gold at Great Bear in late 2029, subject to permitting.

For Lobo-Marte, Rollinson said baseline studies are underway and the company plans to submit an environmental impact assessment by Q2. In Q&A, management clarified that a later-year project update is expected for Lobo-Marte economics following the EIA submission, rather than a specific Great Bear technical update.

Kinross Gold Corporation NYSE: KGC is a Toronto-based precious metals mining company primarily focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, with silver recovered as a by-product at some operations. The company's activities span the full mining lifecycle, including discovery and resource delineation, mine construction and operation, ore processing, and eventual site reclamation and closure. Kinross sells refined gold produced at its processing facilities and manages associated logistics and processing arrangements to deliver metal to market.

Kinross operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects across multiple regions, with a significant presence in the Americas and West Africa.

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