OceanaGold (TSE:OGC) executives highlighted a record-setting 2025 and laid out a 2026 plan that pairs higher production and lower costs with a sharp increase in growth spending and shareholder returns, according to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call held Feb. 19, 2026.
President and CEO Gerard Bond said the company safely delivered 2025 guidance for production, all-in sustaining costs (AISC), and capital, while benefiting from a strong gold price environment. Bond said OceanaGold set annual records for EBITDA, EBITDA margins, net profit, earnings per share, operating cash flow, and free cash flow. He noted these results were achieved at an average realized gold price of “around $3,500 an ounce,” which he said was below current spot levels at the time of the call.
Record cash generation and balance sheet strength
Van Niekerk said the company recorded an after-tax impairment reversal of $133 million at Haile during Q4, reflecting higher long-term gold price assumptions and improved performance. He also said the company ended the period in its strongest net cash position to date, with zero debt and cash of $477 million, up 42% from the prior quarter. The cash increase came despite more than $100 million returned to shareholders in Q4 through dividends and buybacks, he said.
Among the quarter’s highlights, van Niekerk reported:
- Adjusted EBITDA up 49% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 57%.
- Adjusted net profit and earnings per share roughly doubling from the prior year (after noting the impact of share-based compensation).
- Operating cash flow per share of $1.21.
- Record free cash flow of $259 million, which he said exceeded the company’s total free cash flow generated in all of 2024.
Van Niekerk also flagged higher share-based compensation expense in Q4 amid a rising share price, saying adjusted EPS included roughly a $0.26 per share impact from share-based compensation. He added that 2025 cash costs and EBITDA included accounting allocations related to capitalized sustaining waste stripping at Haile and Macraes, translating to about a $70 per ounce increase in cash costs for the year, without affecting AISC or free cash flow.
2026 outlook: higher production, lower AISC, higher investment
Bond said 2026 guidance implies higher production and lower AISC, alongside increased spending on “value-accretive capital projects.” Using the midpoint of guidance, he said the company expects to produce 12% more gold than in 2025 at a 7% lower AISC.
Bond said the growth in 2026 production is driven primarily by Haile, where guidance reflects a 35% increase in output. He attributed that to 2025 open-pit waste stripping that will provide access to higher-grade ore in 2026, and said Haile’s unit costs are expected to decline 25% year-over-year.
At other operations, management said Macraes and Didipio are expected to deliver roughly similar gold production to 2025, while Waihi is expected to sustain improved mine performance after a turnaround effort in 2025. Didipio AISC is expected to improve slightly, Bond said, “largely due to higher copper by-product credits.”
Bond said total growth and exploration capital is planned to rise to $340 million in 2026, about 2.5 times 2025 levels, reflecting accelerated development of the permitted Waihi North project, commencement of Palomino Underground development at Haile, and a meaningful step-up in exploration.
Operations update: Haile, Macraes, Waihi, Didipio
COO Bhuvanesh Malhotra said all four sites increased production in Q4 and each met its production guidance for the year, emphasizing that results were delivered safely.
Haile: Malhotra said Haile produced 56,000 ounces in Q4, its planned highest quarter of 2025. He cited reaching ore in the Ledbetter open pit, strong performance at Horseshoe Underground—where he said decline advance is “a full year ahead of mine sequence”—and crusher upgrades that removed bottlenecks and increased mill throughput. He said an updated technical report is scheduled for release at the end of March and will outline mining the next phase of Ledbetter from underground, which he said improves margins and overall net present value. Malhotra said the mine plan is expected to produce above 200,000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031.
In response to a Scotiabank question on permits and timing for moving Ledbetter from open pit to underground, Malhotra said the change would require a “minor permit modification.” He said front-end engineering is commencing now and estimated development would take about two years, starting sometime next year, with first development ore toward the “back end of 2029” and sustainable ore production from 2030 onward.
Macraes: Malhotra said Macraes produced 56,000 ounces in Q4, aided by access to higher-grade open-pit ore following waste stripping at Innes Mills earlier in 2025. He said Q4 AISC was under $1,300 per ounce, down materially from Q3. An updated technical report, also expected at the end of March, is slated to show a five-year mine life extension to 2032 using a $2,200 gold price assumption. In Q&A, management discussed additional mine life opportunities beyond 2032, including potential extensions at Innes Mills and evaluation along Macraes’ northern corridor beyond Coronation North.
Waihi: Malhotra said Waihi exceeded production guidance and met AISC guidance for 2025. Q4 was the strongest quarter of the year at just under 22,000 ounces, which he attributed to progress from an underground improvement plan initiated in 2024. He added that final permits for Waihi North were received in Q4, and the company expects to start the underground decline toward Wharekirauponga by mid-2026.
Didipio: Malhotra said Didipio met production guidance and in Q4 produced approximately 24,000 ounces of gold and 3,200 tons of copper. He said investments in mine resilience, including underground pumping infrastructure, helped keep operations running through extreme weather events. He noted full-year AISC came in around the top end of the guided range. An updated technical report is expected in the first half of the year to detail remaining work to reach sustained mining rates and to provide an updated life-of-mine plan.
Exploration ramp-up and increased shareholder returns
Chief Exploration Officer Keenan Jennings, delivering his first quarterly market update, said OceanaGold has its “highest ever exploration budget” in 2026, with increased spending at all four sites and a renewed greenfields focus. He outlined three strategy pillars: converting resources to reserves, brownfields exploration near existing assets, and strengthening greenfields exploration.
Jennings said the company signed earn-in agreements in 2025 with Headwater Gold in Nevada and Carolina Rush in South Carolina. He also described plans to follow up targets fully controlled in New Zealand and the Philippines, and to continue looking for opportunities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
At Wharekirauponga, Jennings said the company will double the number of rigs operating following New Zealand government approval. He said the first half of 2026 will focus on resource-to-reserve conversion, with a plan for more than 30 drill holes targeting 300,000 ounces of reserves. In the second half, he said the team will follow up what appears to be a new higher-grade zone to the south with eight drill holes targeting growth of 150,000 ounces of inferred resources. He said initial results are expected mid-year, with a technical report update later in 2027.
On capital returns, Bond said the board approved a tripling of the quarterly dividend and a doubling of the share buyback for 2026, resulting in up to $432 million of total shareholder returns—an increase of 112% year-over-year. In discussing buyback sizing, Bond said an illustrative slide assumes a $4,700 gold price and implies about a 40% payout ratio using guidance midpoints and a “reasonable gold price assumption,” adding that the company could consider increasing the buyback if operating performance and gold prices allow, similar to 2025.
Bond also said OceanaGold expects to complete its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in April. On M&A, he said the company’s strategy has not changed and that inorganic opportunities remain an option, though “not a priority focus.”
About OceanaGold (TSE:OGC)
OceanaGold is a growing intermediate gold and copper producer committed to safely and responsibly maximizing the generation of Free Cash Flow from our operations and delivering strong returns for our shareholders. We have a portfolio of four operating mines: the Haile Gold Mine in the United States of America; Didipio Mine in the Philippines; and the Macraes and Waihi operations in New Zealand.
