Gold Fields H1 free cash flow doubled to $2.2bn on record gold prices and a 173% surge at Salares Norte. The miner raised its 2026 production outlook for the Chilean asset while flagging timing risks at the Windfall project in Canada.
Alpha Score of 65 reflects moderate overall profile with moderate momentum, moderate value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
Gold Fields delivered a first half that was hard to miss for anyone tracking the gold miners. Attributable production rose 12% to 1.267 million ounces, but the real story was cash: adjusted free cash flow more than doubled to $2.225 billion, powered by an average realized gold price of $4,678 per ounce, up 51% from the prior year.
The company reported no fatalities or serious injuries during the half, which CEO Mike Fraser attributed to a safety program launched in 2024. Sales volumes rose 18% over the period, Fraser said, with the higher gold market supporting both cash generation and shareholder returns.
The star of the portfolio was Salares Norte, the Chile operation that produced 337,000 ounces in the first half, a 173% increase from a year earlier. It generated just under $1.2 billion in free cash flow and posted a first-half all-in sustaining cost of $269 per ounce, helped by strong silver prices and byproduct credits. Fraser said the mine benefited from better grade reconciliation from the pits and stronger plant recoveries than expected, adding that it handled winter conditions successfully. Gold Fields now expects Salares Norte to produce 550,000 to 600,000 gold-equivalent ounces for the full year, above the 500,000-to-550,000-ounce range discussed at the capital markets day.
Other operations contributed as well. Granny Smith produced 147,000 ounces, a 10% increase, helped by higher mined grades and improved underground productivity. South Deep produced 151,000 ounces, in line with plan. Cerro Corona was in line with plan but lower year over year as it shifts to stockpile processing. Tarkwa saw weaker mill-feed grades, more waste movement and adverse weather, though Fraser said performance improved in the second quarter and should step up in the second half. Agnew was affected by a seismic event early in 2026, with recovery expected to continue through the remainder of the year.
CFO Alex Dall said headline earnings per share and free cash flow more than doubled in the first half. Net debt fell to $437 million. The company was in a net cash position excluding lease liabilities, Dall said, with net debt to EBITDA at 0.06 times compared with 0.37 times a year earlier.
Cash costs increased 10%, while all-in sustaining costs rose 13% to $1,893 per ounce. The company blamed higher royalties, stronger producing currencies, inflation, higher strip ratios at certain assets and the structural costs of mining at depth. The consolidation of Gruyere at 100%, versus 50% previously, also pushed costs higher.
The company paid out 50% of operating cash flow during the half. Its interim base dividend was 16.25 South African rand per share, up 132% year over year. Gold Fields completed $300 million in share buybacks between March and July, following a $253 million special dividend allocated in February. Management announced an additional $500 million for its shareholder-return top-up program, bringing the total allocation since November 2025 to $1.25 billion. Dall said the company intends to review the program every six months.
Windfall, the company's Canadian development project, remains a key growth driver but faces a timing risk. Gold Fields has signed an Impact Benefit Agreement and expects environmental impact assessment approval during the second half of 2026. The company had expected a decision in June. Fraser told analysts that if approval does not come by the end of 2026, the project could slip to late 2029 or later because winter construction windows would be lost. He said the project's capital estimate had already moved toward the upper end of the $1.7 billion-to-$1.9 billion range because of additional scope items, including a $50 million nitrate treatment plant and labor-related changes. The earlier range was presented in real 2025 terms, he noted, and would need inflation adjustments.
Gold Fields maintained full-year production guidance and said output is tracking toward the upper end of the range. All-in sustaining costs are expected near the midpoint of guidance, while all-in costs should be toward the lower end due to lower anticipated capital spending in the second half.
The company is also waiting on the renewal of Tarkwa's mining leases in Ghana, which expire in April 2027. Gold Fields submitted a technical study and lease application in November 2025, followed by a commercial proposal in July 2026. Fraser said the timing and terms of a renewal remain uncertain.
Gold Fields shares trade on the NYSE under the ticker GFI. The company holds an Alpha Score of 65, classified as Moderate, within the Basic Materials sector.
Gold Fields spent nearly $180 million on brownfields and greenfields exploration in the first half, targeting assets in Canada, Australia and South America.
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