Medellín-based gold miner Mineros delivered the strongest financial year in its half-century history, reporting revenue of $799.7 million — up 48% from $538.6 million in 2024 — and adjusted EBITDA of $358.4 million, a 71% jump from $210.1 million. The results, disclosed Wednesday ahead of a Thursday earnings call, were powered by record gold prices that saw the company sell 221,608 ounces at an average realized price of $3,474. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Colombia affairs and Latin American financial news.
Net profit hit $145 million ($0.49 per share), up 68% from $86.6 million in 2024, despite absorbing a one-time $49.3 million tax settlement with Nicaragua’s DGI over unpaid VAT from 2019 to 2024. Without that charge, Q4 earnings alone would have been substantially higher — the settlement dragged Q4 net profit down 59% to $9.4 million even as Q4 adjusted EBITDA doubled to $114.6 million.
The company ended 2025 with $108 million in cash and just $15.4 million in loans, leaving the balance sheet virtually debt-free. Free cash flow hit a record $138.6 million, up 60% from $86.8 million in 2024, providing the financial runway for both shareholder returns and an aggressive capex ramp in 2026.
The dominant driver was gold. The average realized price surged 46% to $3,474 per ounce for the full year, with Q4 averaging $4,179 — a record. Silver sales contributed an additional boost, with silver revenue rising 219% in Q4 on both higher prices and volumes. Revenue growth was almost entirely price-driven: ounces sold increased just 4% for the full year, meaning the gold price accounted for the vast majority of the $261 million revenue increase.
Gross profit surged 77% to $326.3 million for the year, with margins expanding as revenue growth outpaced the 34% increase in cost of sales. The cost inflation was concentrated in two areas: artisanal mining partner payments (which are pegged to gold prices) and higher royalties and taxes tied to stronger commodity prices.
Consolidated gold production reached 221,608 ounces (227,481 gold-equivalent including silver), beating the top end of 2025 guidance of 201,000–223,000 ounces. Nicaragua’s Hemco property contributed 131,831 ounces while Colombia’s Nechí alluvial operation delivered 89,777 ounces.
Colombia was the standout, with Nechí production jumping 21% year-on-year in Q1 and maintaining strong output throughout the year. The alluvial dredging operations benefit from a unique low-cost gravity recovery process powered by the company’s own hydroelectric facilities — no chemical reagents required — giving Nechí a structural cost advantage relative to most underground operations.
Full-year cash cost came in at $1,746 per ounce and AISC at $2,032 per ounce — both above original guidance ranges of $1,340–$1,430 and $1,650–$1,750 respectively. The overruns were driven almost entirely by the gold-price-linked cost structure: both Nicaraguan artisanal mining cooperatives and Colombian formalized miners receive payments pegged to spot gold, meaning higher prices automatically inflate input costs.
Despite the absolute cost increases, margins expanded substantially because revenue growth outpaced cost growth. The EBITDA margin expanded to roughly 45% from 39% in 2024, demonstrating the operating leverage inherent in a gold miner producing at record prices.
Revenue of $799.7 million was powered by gold sales at a record average of $3,474 per ounce, with Q4 alone generating $252.6 million at $4,179 per ounce. Gross profit reached $326.3 million (+77%), while adjusted EBITDA of $358.4 million represented a 45% margin on revenue — a meaningful expansion from the 39% margin in 2024.
Net profit of $145 million was constrained by the $49.3 million Nicaraguan tax settlement, a $53.7 million increase in other expenses, and $35.9 million in higher current tax expenses. Earnings per share of $0.49 compared with $0.29 in 2024. Return on capital employed reached 56%, up from 38% in 2024, driven by the 71% higher adjusted EBITDA and a 25% increase in average capital employed.
Mineros ended 2025 with $108 million in cash, $24 million in receivables from refineries, and just $15.4 million in total loans — a virtually debt-free balance sheet. Net free cash flow hit a record $138.6 million, up 60% from $86.8 million in 2024, driven by the higher EBITDA partially offset by increased investment in growth projects including the $40 million La Pepa acquisition.
The market cap stood at approximately C$1.66 billion (roughly $1.2 billion) as of the reporting date, with the stock trading on the TSX, BVC, and OTCQX. Enterprise value-to-EBITDA of 4.6x and a trailing P/E of 7.7x suggest the stock remains modestly valued relative to the scale of its cash generation, though management has flagged that it still trades at a discount to Latin American gold peers on P/NAV and EV/ounce metrics.
Mineros returned $42 million to shareholders in 2025: $30 million in dividends ($29.8 million paid across four quarters) and approximately $12 million in share buybacks. The dividend yield remains attractive by gold-miner standards, and the company has maintained consistent payouts through multiple commodity cycles.
CEO Daniel Henao framed the financial strength as enabling a dual approach: continuing shareholder returns while pivoting toward high-impact growth and exploration. The company’s subsidiary status under Sun Valley Investments AG provides an additional layer of financial backing and strategic direction.
CEO Henao described 2026 as a transition in Mineros’ corporate lifecycle, signaling a shift from steady-state production to active growth. He emphasized that capital is being directed toward brownfield projects with immediate accretive returns — language suggesting management sees the current gold price environment as a window to scale rapidly rather than simply harvest margins.
The company is also evaluating a potential corporate re-domiciliation, having called a special shareholders’ meeting for April 2026. While the board stressed this is precautionary and no final determination has been made, a move to a jurisdiction with better capital-market access could enhance liquidity and index eligibility — particularly relevant given the January 2026 inclusion in the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index.
Management believes Mineros remains undervalued relative to regional peers, citing metrics like EV per 100,000 ounces of $637 million versus a Latin American peer average of $1,772 million. This valuation gap, combined with the TSX30 recognition and growing institutional visibility, suggests the company may pursue further corporate actions to close the discount.
The 2026 production guidance of 213,000–233,000 ounces represents a 10,000-ounce increase over 2025 guidance. Nicaragua’s Hemco is expected to deliver 130,000–140,000 ounces while Colombia’s Nechí targets 83,000–93,000 ounces. Whether Mineros can again beat the top end — as it did in 2025 — will depend on the pace of brownfield project commissioning and artisanal mining partnerships.
The $113.7 million capex budget — split between $51.7 million growth, $44.7 million sustaining, and $17.3 million exploration — is Mineros‘ largest ever. The 25,000-meter drilling campaign in Nicaragua and continued work at the La Pepa project in Chile will be the key indicators of whether the company can sustain its production trajectory beyond 2026.
The re-domiciliation evaluation could be transformative. A potential statutory merger to redomicile out of Colombia would improve access to North American capital markets and could unlock index-driven passive flows. The April 2026 special meeting will provide clarity on whether the board moves forward.
| Metric | 2026 Guidance | Context |
| Gold Production | 213K–233K oz | +10K oz vs 2025 guide |
| Nicaragua (Hemco) | 130K–140K oz | AISC $2,000–$2,100/oz |
| Colombia (Nechí) | 83K–93K oz | AISC $1,820–$1,920/oz |
| Capital Expenditure | $113.7M total | $51.7M growth / $44.7M sust. |
| Exploration | $17.3M / 25K meters | Most aggressive ever |
| BMP Margin (Nicaragua) | 39%–41% AISC margin | Artisanal partnership |
| Metric | Value | Y/Y Change |
| Revenue (FY2025) | $799.7M | +48% |
| Adj. EBITDA (FY2025) | $358.4M | +71% |
| Net Profit | $145.0M ($0.49/sh) | +68% |
| Gold Produced | 221,608 oz | Above guidance |
| Avg. Realized Gold Price | $3,474/oz | +46% ($2,387 in 2024) |
| AISC per oz | $2,032/oz | ↑ above original guide |
| Free Cash Flow | $138.6M | +60% |
| Cash / Debt | $108M / $15.4M | Virtually debt-free |
| Shareholder Returns | $42M total | $30M div + $12M buyback |
| Share Performance | Top BVC performer | 903% 2-yr total return |
Gold price dependence is the overwhelming risk. With revenue nearly 100% tied to gold and an average realized price of $3,474 in 2025, any sustained pullback below $3,000 would compress margins sharply — particularly given the gold-price-linked cost structure where artisanal mining partners in both Nicaragua and Colombia are paid as a percentage of spot. AISC of $2,032 per ounce leaves healthy margins at current prices but offers limited cushion in a correction scenario.
Jurisdictional risk is concentrated in Nicaragua, which contributes roughly 60% of production. The $49.3 million tax settlement with DGI demonstrates the regulatory unpredictability of operating there, and the Ortega government’s track record on property rights and foreign investment adds a permanent risk premium. Any escalation in political instability or further tax actions could materially impair the Hemco operation’s contribution.
Concentration risk is notable. Mineros operates just two producing properties — Nechí (alluvial) and Hemco (underground plus artisanal) — with the La Pepa project in Chile still at the exploration stage. Any operational disruption at either property would have an outsized impact on consolidated results. Additionally, the reliance on artisanal mining cooperatives for a significant portion of Nicaraguan production introduces supply chain variability that is difficult to predict or control.
Mineros occupies a distinctive niche in the Latin American gold landscape. Founded in 1974 and now a subsidiary of Sun Valley Investments AG, the company operates one of the region’s few gravity-recovery alluvial dredging operations in Colombia alongside conventional underground and artisanal mining in Nicaragua. With over 50 years of operating history and a market cap of roughly $1.2 billion, Mineros sits at the boundary between small-cap and mid-tier gold producers — a scale that offers growth optionality but also explains the persistent valuation discount to larger peers.
The September 2025 acquisition of full ownership of Chile’s La Pepa project from Pan American Silver for $40 million added a third country to the portfolio and a substantial exploration-stage asset in the Maricunga Gold Belt with estimated measured and indicated resources of 2.19 million ounces. A preliminary economic assessment is underway to evaluate heap-leaching feasibility — a potential step-change in Mineros’ production profile if advanced to development.
Among BVC-listed peers, Mineros is unique as a pure-play gold producer with meaningful international operations. Its inclusion in both the TSX30 and the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index in January 2026 reflects the growing cross-border institutional interest. Management has noted that Mineros trades at roughly $637 million EV per 100,000 ounces versus $1,772 million for Latin American gold peers — a gap it is actively seeking to close through operational execution, exploration success, and potential corporate restructuring.
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