Northern Star June quarter: 433koz sold at A$2,651/oz AISC; KCGM mill expansion starts commissioning

What investors must know

1. June quarter gold sold was 433,482oz at an AISC of A$2,651/oz (US$1,821/oz), down from A$2,709/oz in the March quarter (Figure 1).
2. FY26 gold sold was 1,543,405oz, above the revised 1,500koz guidance, at an AISC of A$2,698/oz, inside the revised A$2,600-2,800/oz range.
3. Net mine cash flow was A$443 million for the quarter after A$577 million of growth capital, and A$1,179 million for FY26.
4. KCGM Stage 1 is in commissioning. The existing plant runs through July and August, tie-in to the 27Mtpa facility is planned for September, and ramp-up uses lower-grade feed in 1H FY27.
5. FY27 Group guidance comes with the FY26 results on 20 August 2026, and no FY28-FY29 medium-term guidance is expected in calendar 2026.
6. Cash and bullion was A$1,235 million at 30 June after A$129 million of buy-backs at an average A$20.39 per share.
7. Stuart Tonkin steps down. Suresh Vadnagra starts as MD and CEO on 5 October 2026, with Ryan Gurner as interim CEO until then.

Money: can they follow it up?

Period ending

2026-06-30

Cash

$1.0bn

Debt

$845m

Undrawn facilities

$1.8bn

Operating cash flow (quarter)

$1.2bn

Exploration spend (quarter)

$58.0m

Shares on issue

1,424.8m

Options, rights & convertibles

10.3m

Gold produced

433,482 oz

AISC

A$2,651/oz (margin about A$3,129/oz at the day's gold price)

Revenue

$2.2bn

Guidance

FY26 gold sold 1,543koz was above the revised guidance of 1,500koz. FY26 AISC of A$2,698/oz was inside the revised A$2,600-2,800/oz range. Kalgoorlie, Yandal and Pogo were each within revised guidance. FY27 Group guidance is deferred to 20 August 2026.

All figures are A$ millions for the June quarter to 30 June 2026, unless stated. Gold sold was 433,482oz (gold recovered was 436,186oz). Cash of A$1,018m is cash and term deposits. Bullion of A$217m brings the total cash and bullion to A$1,235m. Operating cash flow of A$1,212m is the Figure 7 waterfall figure, before A$188m of income tax paid. The waterfall also shows A$684m PP&E and mine properties, A$63m exploration and A$71m equipment finance and leases, which are not summed here. Debt is the US$600m senior guaranteed notes due April 2033 at 6.125%, converted at the 0.71 AUD:USD rate stated in the report (A$845.1m). Lease liabilities are not quantified. Undrawn is A$1,750m of corporate bank facilities maturing March 2030 and March 2031. Exploration is A$58m per the report text, which includes A$8m of Hemi exploration; Table 1 shows A$50m excluding Hemi. The report does not give funding quarters or an Appendix 5B. Net mine cash flow of A$443m and free cash flow of A$206m are positive for the period. Shares on issue are 1,424,805,062 at 29 July 2026. Options and rights are 10,243,792 performance rights plus 8,488 NED share rights. The A$129m buy-back at an average A$20.39 is cash out, not a raising.

Appendix 5B explained - why runway predicts raisings - every company's runway

How the price reacted

From the last close before the market could trade on it ($20.25 on 28 Jul 2026), with day-1 volume 1.3x the 20-day average.

NST's past price-sensitive news

After 9 earlier announcements, NST rose on day 1 8 times and fell 1 times - an average move of +3.9%.

• 6 Nov 26+0.8%
• 20 Oct 26+1.8%
• 25 Sep 26+6.2%
• 19 Aug 26+6.2%
• 19 Aug 26+6.2%
• 19 Aug 26+6.2%
• 1 Jul 26+5.5%
• 1 Jul 26+5.5%
• 9 Jun 26-3.5%

DrillScore has no recorded share price reactions to earlier NST price-sensitive news. The stock closed at A$20.25 on 28 July, the last close before this release, and is A$25.39 now (up 25.4%). That period is 3.5 months and includes sector moves, including the XGD up 17.7%, so the move cannot be attributed to this report. The stock's 52-week range is A$17.07-31.96.

Past reactions describe what happened, not what will. How prices react to results

The historical pattern

What share prices did after past results like this one, from DrillScore's own records. It describes the past: it isn't a forecast for NST and it isn't advice.

A strand leans up or down when its day-5 average is 1% or more either way. Each is shown on its own and never added up into a prediction: small samples swing, and every result is different. The full backtest - how it's worked out

The market it landed in

Gold was US$4,038.7/oz at release and US$3,886.3/oz now (down 3.8%). In A$ it went from A$5,780 to A$5,737 (down 0.7%), because the AUD also fell to 0.6774 from 0.6987. The June quarter realised A$5,041/oz, below both spot levels. Against an AISC of A$2,651/oz, spot leaves a wide margin on unhedged ounces. The hedge book caps exposure on 788koz. The report does not disclose a study price deck. Higher US yields (10-year at 5.154% from 4.604%) and a 2% rise in the US dollar index are usually headwinds for gold. The sector has moved differently since release: the XGD is up 17.7%, GDX up 10.0% and GDXJ up 2.3%, while COPX is down 9.5%.

Against NST's own history

DrillScore holds no earlier NST intercepts and no capital raisings. Our record for the quarter to 30 June 2026 shows cash of A$1,255m, which matches the 2 July production update. This report gives A$1,235m cash and bullion at 30 June (A$1,018m cash plus A$217m bullion), so the report figure should be used. Our record also shows debt of 0 and gold of 433,000oz. The 433,000oz matches gold sold, not inventory, and this report discloses US$600m of senior notes. The 2 July FY26 update (scored 66) and the 2 July MD announcement (scored 50) are in our history. The PDF does not mention the Elliott stake letter of 10 June, which is in our history.

Questions worth asking

• What did FY27 Group guidance and any revised KCGM outlook say on 20 August 2026, and how do they compare with the August 2025 FY27-FY29 outlook?
• Has the September tie-in to the 27Mtpa facility happened on schedule, and what throughput, recovery and plant availability has the expanded plant achieved since commissioning?
• How much growth capital is still to be spent on KCGM Stage 2, Hemi and Operational Readiness, and how is it funded alongside the A$500 million buy-back program?
• Will the company provide an Appendix 5B-style funding position, including burn rate and funding quarters, in future quarterly reports?