Perseus ups profit by US$200m
Soaring gold prices pushing towards all-time highs of US$3,000/oz have led to a net profit rise after tax (NPAT) of 22% year-on-year (YoY) during H1 FY25 for Perseus Mining (ASX : PRU) of $US201.1 million.
Realised bullion prices by the West African miner jumped 20% YoY - so high that even a 2% production drop YoY did not dent the high margins of profit.
The gold digger's revenue increased to US$581.8 million, up 19% YoY as gold production reached a total of 253,709 oz, with an all-in site cost (AISC) of $US1,162/oz across its Yaoure and Sissingue projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Edikan project in Ghana.
Net cash and bullion of US$704 million was up by US$117 million from the H1 FY24 balance and 2.5c per share was declared, doubling H1 FY24’s interim return for shareholders.
“With this result, Perseus has continued to cement its position as one of the more profitable mid-tier gold producers on a global scale, with its gold production of 253,709 ounces at an all-in site cost of US$1,162 per ounce during the [half], translating to strong performance across all key financial metrics," Perseus
Net tangible assets increased to US$1.34 billion, with US$704 million cash and bullion on hand, zero debt, US$300 million undrawn debt capacity and US$67 million of marketable shares.
The miner said market guidance for FY25 remains on track to produce between 469,000-504,000oz gold at an AISC of US$1,250-US$1,280/oz.
Ampol profit sinks on Lytton refinery woes
Ampol’s (ASX : ALD) profit plummeted by 78% across 2024, with its Fuels and Infrastructure divisions seeing major difficulties.
The company’s NPAT was $122.5 million for the calendar year, down from $549.1 million YoY and below Visible Alpha analyst expectations of $221 million.
“The 2024 financial year was one of challenging global refining and commodity markets that impacted both our Lytton refinery and Trading and Shipping operations,” Ampol CEO Matt Halliday said in the company's annual report.
“The performances of our retail business in both key markets, and of our Australian commercial fuels business, underscores the increased resilience of our business today.
"Not only has it enabled relatively strong core earnings to be delivered during the period, it has also meant we could take the decisions necessary in the refinery during the softer margin environment to set us up for a clear run in 2025.”
Diluted earnings per share were $0.514 last year, below 2023’s $2.30, with a declared ordinary dividend of 5c per share, fully franked.
The $6.68 billion market cap of Ampol's share price is down almost 3% to $27.27 per share at the time of writing.
GR Engineering stocks rocket on half-year earnings
With project execution levels high and major project work continuing into the second half of FY25 and FY26, GR Engineering (ASX : GNG) has posted a 45% increase in revenue for H1 FY25.
That revenue came in at $272.1 million (HY24: $187.3 million) with an EBITDA of $34.5 million (HY24: $22.6 million) - a more than 50% rise in both metrics.
GR's managing director Tony Patrizi said the HY25 period was characterised by solid operational performance across the group.
“Engineering, design and construction works are continuing on key projects including the Mungari Future Growth project, Kainantu gold project and the Woodlawn Restart project,” Patrizi said.
"Subsequent to 31 December 2024, GR Engineering was awarded the King of the Hills Operations Stage 1 Upgrade Project. GR Engineering is currently involved in ongoing early contractor work and a high volume of studies across a broad range of commodities and geographies.
Its GR Production Services (GRPS) achieved solid revenue contributions through the provision of operations and maintenance services to the energy sector.
GRPS has successfully increased revenue and earnings visibility based on contract extensions awarded during the half year period including the Santos Cooper Basin and Surat Basin extensions."
The $500m market-capped company paid out an interim fully franked dividend of 10c (up from 9c in H1 FY24) and is trading up on today's news 6% at $3.03 per share.
Record revenue for Perenti is not enough for investors
Billion-dollar mining services provider Perenti's (ASX: PRN) share price tanked more than 18% on the news of its net profit dropping to $64 million due to higher material costs - even though it generated a record $1.7 billion in revenue for H1 FY25.
A negative free cashflow of $11 million also wouldn't have given cause for investors to celebrate, however the mining services provider is upbeat about further high revenues on the back of its 2023 purchase of driller DDH1 for ~$410 million.
“Perenti will continue to focus on delivery of value and certainty for all stakeholders,” CEO Jeffrey Quartermaine said.
"To clearly demonstrate this commitment, we reaffirm our guidance for FY25. We expect to deliver revenue of between $3.4 billion and $3.6 billion; EBIT(A) of $325 million to $345 million; leverage of between 0.6x and 0.7x; net capital expenditure of ~$330 million; and free cash flow greater than $150 million."
Perenti shares settled down 16% to $1.16 at the close of trading today.
