What Gold Fields (GFI) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Gold Fields expects 2026 production to finish at the upper end of guidance after Q3 attributable output slipped slightly to 605,000 ounces; improving grades and higher output at several operations are expected to strengthen Q4 production.
• The company expects to make a final investment decision on Windfall by February 2027, alongside a reserve and resource update. Talks to renew five Tarkwa mining leases expiring in April 2027 remain unresolved, with no government feedback or timeline yet.
• Gold Fields ended Q3 with $981 million in net debt and had delivered about $1.1 billion of its $1.25 billion shareholder-return program through buybacks and a special dividend. Management cited labor, fuel, contractor costs, currency moves and royalties as cost pressures.

Gold Fields NYSE: GFI expects to finish 2026 at the upper end of its production guidance after reporting a slight quarter-over-quarter decline in attributable gold production to 605,000 ounces in the third quarter.

CEO Mike Fraser said the decline was largely due to lower grades mined at Tarkwa and Agnew, while production improved at Gruyere, St. Ives, Tarkwa, South Deep and Cerro Corona. He described the quarter as largely in line with the company’s plan and said costs were broadly flat despite inflation and lower production.

Fraser expects a stronger fourth quarter as grades improve and several operations increase output. Gold Fields also expects to remain within its overall cost guidance, he said.

Fourth-Quarter Production Outlook

At Gruyere, Fraser said three new excavators are fully operational and productivity is improving. At St. Ives, he pointed to better performance from Invincible Underground and increased material movement. Higher-grade production from Kath and Redeemer is expected to help Agnew, while Tarkwa is moving into higher grades from Mantraim.

Production at Salares was lower in the third quarter as planned, partly reflecting a scheduled shutdown. The company also ramped up Circuit C during the period, Fraser said.

Gold Fields had no fatalities in the year to date, although it recorded one serious injury at Windfall in July, its first of the year, Fraser said.

Chief Operating Officer Francois Swanepoel said a ventilation blockage in a return airway at Agnew had been resolved and the operation was back to normal production levels.

Windfall Decision and Tarkwa Lease Talks

Gold Fields has received the Global Certificate of Authorisation for Windfall, along with key secondary permits including the mining lease, Fraser said. The company is continuing site preparation and expects to announce a final investment decision alongside its February 2027 results, when it also plans to publish a mineral reserve and resource update.

In response to an analyst’s question, Fraser said the decision could come earlier but would probably be made no later than the end of February. He said environmental requirements included an additional nitrate treatment plant and another water-holding pond, but he did not expect those items to have a material impact on capital costs.

At Tarkwa, five mining leases expire in April 2027. Fraser said Gold Fields submitted a renewal application in November 2025 and a commercial proposal in July 2026, but had not received feedback or a committed timeframe from the government.

“We are still hopeful that we will be treated fairly and reasonably, and the terms of the renewal will enable us to continue to invest in this operation,” Fraser said, adding that the company would consider all available options.

Fraser also noted increased regulatory activity during the renewal process. He said the company was fully compliant and externally assured, but it was difficult to distinguish activity affecting the broader industry from scrutiny associated with Tarkwa’s negotiations.

Cash Returns and Cost Pressures

Chief Financial Officer Alex Dall said Gold Fields realized a gold price just below $4,300 an ounce in the quarter, down 5% from the prior quarter. The company ended the period with $981 million in net debt, or $410 million excluding leases, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 0.13 times.

Quarter-end net debt reflected an interim dividend of about $900 million, $215 million of buybacks and $105 million of investments, Dall said. It also included approximately $120 million of capitalized leases relating to Gruyere and Granny Smith.

Gold Fields had repurchased $854 million of shares under its additional shareholder returns program through Nov. 3. Including a $253 million special dividend, it had delivered about $1.1 billion of the $1.25 billion allocated to that program, Dall said. The company will continue to assess further returns and make buybacks opportunistically, he added.

Asked about cost pressures, Fraser highlighted labor in Western Australia, fuel and diesel, and contractor costs for sustaining capital work. Dall said stronger producer currencies and gold-price-linked royalties can also affect costs. Across the portfolio, each $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil has roughly a $1 to $1.50 impact on all-in sustaining cost per ounce, he said.

Fraser said Gold Fields remains open to engagement with Northern Star after its nonbinding indicative proposal was rejected by Northern Star’s board. Any transaction would need to fit Gold Fields’ capital allocation approach, he said, and there is no certainty a deal will occur.

About Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited is a South Africa-based gold mining company. Its business includes the exploration, development, extraction and processing of mineral resources, with gold as its primary product and copper produced at some operations.

The company operates mines and projects in Australia, Ghana, Peru, South Africa and Chile. Its activities span the full mining cycle, from evaluating and developing deposits to operating mines and processing ore.

Gold Fields was formed in 1998 through the combination of Gold Fields of South Africa and Gencor's gold assets.

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