Hochschild reports Q1 production in line with expectations

(Sharecast News) - Hochschild Mining reported first-quarter production in line with expectations and maintained its full-year guidance on Wednesday, supported by strong performance at its Inmaculada mine and improving operations at Mara Rosa in Brazil. Attributable production for the three months ended 31 March totalled 75,599 gold equivalent ounces, including 55,252 ounces of gold and 1.6 million ounces of silver.

The FTSE 250 company reiterated its 2026 production guidance of 300,000 to 328,000 gold equivalent ounces and all-in sustaining costs of between $2,157 and $2,320 per ounce.

"We have made a solid start to the year, with a strong operational performance at our flagship Inmaculada mine in Peru whilst the turnaround programme at Mara Rosa in Brazil is progressing well, with continued improvements in the plant and filtering operations," said chief executive Eduardo Landin.

Group production reflected steady output from Inmaculada and a rising contribution from Mara Rosa, partly offset by a slightly lower-than-expected performance at the San Jose mine in Argentina.

At Inmaculada, first-quarter production totalled 32,561 ounces of gold and 1.2 million ounces of silver, equivalent to 48,281 gold equivalent ounces, as higher throughput was partly offset by lower grades.

The company also progressed infrastructure projects, including commissioning a reverse osmosis plant and advancing its tailings storage facility.

San Jose produced 0.7 million ounces of silver and 14,157 ounces of gold, equivalent to 26,991 gold equivalent ounces, with higher tonnage offset by slightly lower silver grades due to expected variability in vein zones and the impact of higher prices on cut-off grades.

The mine remained on track to meet its annual target.

At Mara Rosa, output totalled 13,552 gold equivalent ounces, below expectations due to equipment constraints, reduced access to higher-grade zones and seasonal weather impacts.

However, operational improvements continued, with greater plant stability, higher run rates and progress on infrastructure, including a new tailings thickener expected to begin operations by the end of May.

Landin said the company had "delivered another quarter of strong cash generation" and remained on track to meet its annual targets.

Average realised prices rose sharply, with gold at $4,471 per ounce and silver at $89.8 per ounce, compared with $2,708 and $33.2 respectively a year earlier.

Hochschild reported cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of approximately $412m at the end of March, up from $317m at the end of December, resulting in a net cash position of around $95m compared with net debt of $22.7m previously.

The company said it was continuing to advance its growth pipeline, with engineering work at the Monte Do Carmo project in Brazil on track for board approval in the third quarter and the environmental impact study for the Royropata silver project in Peru progressing as planned.

"With Inmaculada performing well, an improved Mara Rosa, guidance maintained and an exciting portfolio of future growth projects, we see a strong future for Hochschild," Landin said.

At 0944 BST, shares in Hochschild Mining were up 1.06% at 664.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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