Guoxin Securities: Maintaining the steady progress of Zijin Gold International's (02259) “superior to the market” key growth projects

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Guoxin Securities released a research report saying that Zijin Gold International (02259) released semi-annual results for 2026, achieving revenue of US$3,987 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 99.7% over the previous year; achieving net profit of US$1,451 million, an increase of 178.8% over the previous year. The bank maintains a “superior to market” rating. The company's 2026-2028 revenue is estimated to be US$84.61/87.12/US$9.475 billion, respectively, net profit to mother of US$31.18/32.51/US$3.537 billion, diluted EPS of US$1.16/1.21/1.32, and the current stock price corresponding to PE is 17.5/16.7/15.4 times.

Guoxin Securities's main views are as follows:

Gold production increased significantly year-on-year, completing 46.1% of the annual plan in the first half of the year

In the first half of this year, the company achieved gold production of about 27.3 tons (of which the holding mine was about 26.0 tons), an increase of 43.7% over the previous year; the production plan for 2026 was about 59.2 tons, and production in the first half of the year completed 46.1% of the annual production plan, which means that the second half of the year will increase productivity and strive to achieve the annual target.

The cost of gold increased slightly due to royalties, and actually declined after exclusion

In the first half of this year, the company's overall maintenance cost AISC was 1,678 US dollars/ounce, up 7.0% year on year; as royalties increased as the price of gold increased, the overall AISC was affected to a certain extent. If this factor is excluded, the cost per ounce decreased year on year in the first half of the year.

An interim dividend of HK$1.5 per share, with a dividend rate of approximately 35.3%

The company plans to distribute HK$1.5 per share in cash to all shareholders, totaling approximately US$512 million, accounting for approximately 35.3% of net profit due to mother in the first half of this year.

Key growth projects are progressing steadily to ensure medium- to long-term growth

1) At the Akim Gold Mine in Ghana, the mining system capacity expansion and tailings depot expansion project continues to advance. The goal is to increase the annual processing capacity from 8.5 million tons to about 13 million tons, and the annual gold production is expected to increase to more than 13 tons;

2) At the Ruiguoduo Gold Mine in Kazakhstan, a new mining project of 10 million tons/year is progressing steadily. The overall mining scale is expected to increase to 16 million tons/year in the future, and the annual gold production is expected to increase to about 11 tons;

3) At the Rosebel Gold Mine in Suriname, technical improvements at the Rosebel refinery (increased ore processing capacity from 8 million tons/year to about 18 million tons/year) and Saramacca's new beneficiation system (added 4 million tons of ore processing capacity) continued to advance;

4) The Gilao/Taro gold mine in Tajikistan, built a 2 million tons/year beneficiation plant to process low-grade resources, with the goal of increasing the annual processing capacity to about 6 million tons/year;

5) The company has terminated the acquisition of 100% of United Gold's shares and instead subscribed for 12.8 million additional shares of its targeted shares, accounting for approximately 9.2% of its total share capital after the increase. Joint Gold's core assets include the Sadiola gold mine in Mali, the Ivorian gold mining complex (including Bonikro and Agbaou gold mines), and the Kurmuk gold mine in Ethiopia, which will be completed and put into operation in the second half of 2026. Taken together, the company has taken multiple measures to effectively guarantee medium- to long-term growth.

Risk Alerts

The risk that the sales price of mineral products will not meet expectations, the risk that the company's project construction progress will not meet expectations, and the risk of changes in policies related to mineral resources in overseas countries.