Perseus FY26 profit up 14% to US$480.5m as gold sold fell 19%; up to A$350m buy-back

What investors must know

1. FY26 profit after tax was US$480.5m, up 14%, on revenue of US$1,483.9m (up 19%) and operating cash flow of US$666.4m (up 24%).
2. Gold sold fell 19% to 399,023 oz and all-in site cost rose 42% to US$1,750/oz; the average realised price rose 45% to US$3,693/oz, which is the main reason profit grew.
3. The FY26 dividend totals 14 cents (up 87%), including a 9 cent final worth A$119.4m payable 7 October 2026; a new buy-back of up to A$350m starts on or about 24 September 2026.
4. A further A$100m distribution from the Meyas Sand sale is planned, but the split between special dividend and capital reduction is not yet set.
5. Cash and bullion were US$1,034.0m at 30 June 2026 (cash US$924.1m), with a US$400m finance facility that was undrawn at that date.
6. FY27 guidance is unchanged at 420,000-480,000 oz production, US$1,835-2,070/oz AISC and US$70-80m exploration spend.
7. Nyanzaga pre-production costs are now forecast at US$70-80m against a US$40m budget, lifting the total project forecast to US$553-563m against the US$523m budget.

Disclosure checks - the ASX's own focus areas

• Drill-hole table (collars, dip, azimuth, depth, every intercept)
  n/a
• JORC Table 1, Section 1 - sampling techniques and data
  n/a
• JORC Table 1, Section 2 - reporting of exploration results
  n/a
• Competent person statement
  fail
• No metal equivalents - grades as assayed
  pass
• Balanced reporting - low and high grades both shown

  No exploration results are reported, so the balance test does not apply. The release states that Measured and Indicated Resources rose 37% and Proved and Probable Reserves rose 40% against FY25. Tonnes, grades and ounces are in a separate 26 August 2026 release that was not supplied, and the Competent Person statement here does not name anyone.

  n/a
• No visual estimates - assays only
  pass

Red flags and notes

Why these matter: JORC Table 1 - metal equivalents - balanced reporting - visual estimates

Money: can they follow it up?

Period ending

2026-06-30

Cash

$1.3bn

Undrawn facilities

$559m

Operating cash flow (quarter)

$931m

Shares on issue

1,327.1m

Options, rights & convertibles

5.6m

Gold produced

399,023 oz

AISC

A$2,446/oz (margin about A$4,115/oz at the day's gold price)

Revenue

$2.1bn

Guidance

FY27 forecast, unchanged from earlier reporting: group production 420,000-480,000 oz; all-in site cost US$1,835-2,070/oz on a US$4,000/oz gold price assumption; sustaining capital US$50-60m; development capital about US$450m; exploration US$70-80m. The CEO says FY26 production and cost guidance was delivered, but the FY26 guidance ranges are not restated here.

The release states amounts in US$ unless stated otherwise. US$ figures are converted at AUD/USD 0.7155, the 25 August 2026 close supplied in the context: cash US$924.1m, undrawn US$400m, operating cash flow US$666.4m, revenue US$1,483.9m and AISC US$1,750/oz. Cash excludes 27,299 oz of bullion valued at US$109.9m; cash plus bullion is US$1,034.0m. Dividends, buy-back and the A$100m distribution are in A$ as stated. Gold sold for FY26 is 399,023 oz. DrillScore's database lists 404,998 oz for the same period, and this release does not state production, so that difference should be checked. The release gives no drawn debt figure, saying only that the facility was undrawn at 30 June 2026. There is no Appendix 5B in this release, so burn, exploration spend and funding quarters are not stated. Cash is strong and the company is returning cash to shareholders, but the buy-back and distribution are discretionary and the Board can scale them back.

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

Resource / reserve

What changed

The release says Measured and Indicated Resources rose 37% and Proved and Probable Reserves rose 40% against FY25. Tonnes, grades and ounces are in a separate 26 August 2026 market release that was not supplied.

Resources vs reserves explained

How the price reacted

From the last close before the market could trade on it ($6.13 on 25 Aug 2026), with day-1 volume 1.4x the 20-day average.

PRU's past price-sensitive news

After 8 earlier announcements, PRU rose on day 1 4 times and fell 4 times - an average move of +3.6%; after financial results alone, +9.5%.

• 26 Oct 26-3.0%
• 25 Aug 26+9.5%
• 25 Aug 26+9.5%
• 25 Aug 26+9.5%
• 29 Jul 26-1.8%
• 16 Jul 26-3.1%
• 12 Jun 26+8.8%
• 22 Apr 26-0.2%

No past price reactions are on record for Perseus's price-sensitive news. Since release, the share price is A$6.35 against A$6.13 at the 25 August close, about 3.6% higher. Over the same period the XGD fell 11.2%, GDX fell 22.6% and GDXJ fell 27.1%. The share price sits in the upper half of its 52-week range of A$4.43 to A$6.96. This describes how the stock has traded against the sector and does not indicate what will happen next.

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 PRU 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

At release, COMEX gold futures were US$4,694.5/oz (A$6,561/oz). They are now US$3,886.3/oz (A$5,737/oz), down 17.2% in US$ terms. These are futures prices and differ from the spot figures the company uses. The company's 30 June 2026 spot reference was US$4,026/oz and its FY26 realised average was US$3,693/oz. Current prices sit above the FY26 average and well above the FY26 all-in site cost of US$1,750/oz, but about 3% below the US$4,000/oz assumed in FY27 AISC guidance, so the margin cushion is smaller than at release. Sector sentiment has turned sharply lower since release: the XGD is down 11.2%, GDX down 22.6% and GDXJ down 27.1%. The AUD fell to 0.6774 from 0.7155 and the US dollar index rose 4.5%. US 10-year yields rose to 5.154% from 4.639%. A stronger US dollar and higher yields generally weigh on gold. WTI oil rose 7.5% to US$88.56/bbl, which could add to mining costs, although the release does not quantify fuel exposure.

Against PRU's own history

DrillScore's database has a June 2026 quarter cash entry of A$1,291.5m, which matches cash of US$924.1m converted at 0.7155 and so reconciles to this release. The March 2026 quarter cash was A$950.3m. Quarterly gold rose from 107,144 oz in the March quarter to 109,013 oz in the June quarter. AISC rose from US$1,748/oz in the March quarter to US$1,941/oz in the June quarter, above the FY26 full-year figure of US$1,750/oz, so the cost trend into the June quarter is higher than the year average. The database also holds a second June-quarter entry with different cash and AISC figures, so database values for that quarter should be checked. FY27 production guidance is unchanged from earlier releases. The buy-back was lifted to A$150m in June 2026 after the A$100m tranche, and is now up to A$350m. The earlier 26 August 2026 results analysis recorded no drill results.

Questions worth asking

• What is the revised total Nyanzaga cost, and why does the release describe the project as on budget when forecast pre-production costs are US$30-40m above the FID budget?
• How would the FY27 AISC guidance of US$1,835-2,070/oz change if gold stays near US$3,900/oz rather than the US$4,000/oz assumed?
• What is the split between special dividend and capital reduction for the A$100m Meyas distribution, and will shareholder approval be needed?
• Is the 399,023 oz sold figure on the same basis as the 404,998 oz held for this period in our records, and what was gold produced?
• How much of the A$350m buy-back has been executed by the next quarterly report, and is the 20% minimum still defined on operating cash flow less non-controlling interest dividends?