Endeavour Mining (LON:EDV) executives said the company delivered “record financial results” in 2025, driven by higher production, expanded margins and strong gold prices, while outlining a stepped-up shareholder return framework and progress on its next growth project, Assafou.
Record 2025 results and cash generation
Chief Executive Officer Ian Cockerill said 2025 was an “outstanding year,” with production of 1.2 million ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,433 per ounce. He said Endeavour achieved the top half of its production guidance and maintained a “sector leading” safety record.
Chief Financial Officer Guy Young added that adjusted results rose sharply year over year, including adjusted EBITDA of $2.3 billion (up 75%) and adjusted net earnings of $782 million (up 244%). On a royalty-adjusted basis, Young said AISC was $1,305 per ounce.
Fourth-quarter performance and balance sheet deleveraging
In the fourth quarter, Young said production increased to 298,000 ounces as higher grades across the portfolio aligned with mine sequencing. He said the all-in sustaining margin rose to $2,225 per ounce, benefiting from improved gold prices, and that adjusted EBITDA reached $681 million, up 46% from the prior quarter.
Young said fourth-quarter operating cash flow was $609 million, up 97% from Q3, with key drivers including the higher realized gold price and higher sales volumes, partially offset by higher cash operating expenses tied to production and royalties. Free cash flow in Q4 was a record $476 million.
On leverage, management highlighted rapid deleveraging. Young said Endeavour ended the quarter with net debt of $158 million, representing 0.07 times net debt to EBITDA, down from 0.21 times at the end of Q3 and below the company’s through-the-cycle target of 0.5 times. He said the company reduced net debt by $574 million and gross debt by $511 million during the year, leaving more than $1.1 billion of liquidity through cash and an undrawn revolving credit facility.
Young also noted fourth-quarter items affecting earnings, including $193 million of impairments “largely across exploration properties,” naming Bantou, Nabanga, and Kalana. He said other expenses included $37 million of incremental royalties for 2025 at Ity and Lafigué in Côte d’Ivoire, where royalty rates were “retroactively increased from 6% to 8%.” He also said net losses on financial instruments were mainly due to realized losses on gold collars, and that Endeavour is now “fully unhedged.”
Shareholder returns: higher minimum and supplemental upside
Cockerill said Endeavour returned a record $435 million to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and buybacks, and highlighted that since the company began paying shareholder returns five years ago it has returned $1.6 billion, or 83% above its minimum commitment over that period.
Looking ahead, management reiterated a new framework announced in January: a minimum $1 billion dividend over 2026 to 2028, based on an assumed $3,000 per ounce gold price. Cockerill told analysts that, at current spot prices, Endeavour sees “the very real prospect” of an additional $1 billion in supplementary returns, comprising additional cash dividends and opportunistic buybacks. He said buybacks would remain opportunistic and do not require additional approvals beyond what is already in place.
In response to a question about returning 100% of free cash flow, Cockerill said the company’s program is designed to maintain flexibility. He emphasized that Endeavour does not want to distribute cash to the detriment of long-term resilience, including the need for capital to keep assets “in sound shape” through the cycle.
2026 outlook: stable production, higher costs from sequencing and royalties
Management expects group production to be “relatively stable” in 2026, with higher output at Sabodala-Massawa partly offset by planned lower production at Houndé and Lafigué as both move through a phase of lower grades and higher stripping. Cockerill and Executive Vice President of Operations and ESG Djaria Traoré said AISC is expected to increase in 2026 due to mine sequencing at Houndé and Lafigué, the impact of higher Côte d’Ivoire royalties (6% to 8%), and foreign exchange assumptions.
On the drivers of the expected cost increase, management said roughly 15% of the year-over-year AISC increase is attributable to royalties and foreign exchange, while the remaining 85% reflects mine sequencing, including stripping and stockpile drawdowns.
Assafou and exploration: permits in hand, feasibility study pending
Cockerill said Endeavour continues to advance the Assafou feasibility study, which he expects to be completed “in a few weeks,” and noted that key environmental and exploitation permits have already been approved. First gold remains targeted for H2 2028.
He said the feasibility study will likely show higher capital expenditure than earlier work due to optimization, a more scalable processing plant design, and an extended road and power line diversion aligned with community and government requirements. However, he described the increase as “modest” and “not dramatically” higher, declining to provide a preliminary estimate before the study is finalized.
On resources, Cockerill said measured and indicated resources at Assafou increased 13% largely due to the maiden resource at Pala Trend 3, a satellite target less than two kilometers from the project. In the Q&A, he said Pala Trend 3 ounces are not included in the feasibility study but could provide mining flexibility and potential early mine-life optionality given proximity and oxide material starting at surface.
Across the business, Traoré said proven and probable reserves fell 10% (down 1.8 million ounces to 16.6 million ounces) due to production depletion and model optimization, partially offset by a higher reserve gold price assumption from $1,500 to $1,900 per ounce. She added that the company has not yet updated pit shells at Sabodala, Massawa, and Ity, and expects the benefit of higher gold prices to be realized when those are updated next year.
On longer-term growth, management reiterated a path to 1.5 million ounces of production by 2030, driven by Assafou and incremental gains at Sabodala-Massawa, with an expectation of moving back toward lower quartile costs by 2030.
About Endeavour Mining (LON:EDV)
Endeavour Mining is one of the world’s senior gold producers and the largest in West Africa, with operating assets across Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso and a strong portfolio of advanced development projects and exploration assets in the highly prospective Birimian Greenstone Belt across West Africa. A member of the World Gold Council, Endeavour is committed to the principles of responsible mining and delivering meaningful value to people and society. Endeavour is admitted to listing and to trading on the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, under the symbol EDV.
