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West African gold producer Perseus Mining raises minimum dividend commitment and launches A$350m buyback as stronger earnings strengthen the balance sheet. It is stepping up shareholder returns after a record year of cash generation, introducing a more generous dividend policy while retaining significant financial capacity to fund growth, acquisitions and further capital distributions. The West African gold producer will now commit to returning at least 20% of net cash flow from operating activities to shareholders after dividends paid to non-controlling interests, which include government shareholders in its mining operations.
The new policy was announced alongside Perseus’ results for the year ended 30 June 2026, which showed revenue rising 19% to $1.48 billion and profit after tax increasing 14% to $480.5 million. The company declared a final dividend of nine Australian cents per share, taking its full-year distribution to 14c a share or A$187 million. The payout was 87% higher than the previous financial year. Perseus has also approved a further A$350 million share buyback and is considering returning another A$100 million to shareholders from proceeds generated by the sale of its Meyas Sand project in Sudan. Chief Executive Officer Lee-Anne de Bruin said the new policy establishes a minimum level of shareholder returns while allowing the company to deploy additional excess cash through special dividends, share buybacks or other capital returns once its operating, growth and balance-sheet requirements have been met.
The strategy reflects the company’s stronger financial position following a year in which operating cash flow increased 24% to $666.4 million and earnings per share rose 17% to 31.73 US cents. Higher gold prices were a major driver of the improvement. Perseus achieved an average realised gold price of $3,693 an ounce during the year, 45% higher than the previous period. The benefit was partly offset by a 42% increase in all-in site costs to $1,750/oz. The company expects cost pressures to persist into FY27, forecasting all-in site costs of between $1,835 and $2,070/oz. Higher government royalties in its key West African operating jurisdictions are among the factors contributing to the elevated cost outlook.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the royalty rate increases from 6% to 8% when the gold price exceeds $2,000/oz, while Ghana applies a sliding royalty scale linked to the gold price. Perseus’ FY27 guidance assumes a gold price of $4,000/oz and royalty rates of 8% in Côte d’Ivoire and 11% in Ghana. The company expects to produce between 420,000 and 480,000 ounces of gold in FY27 from its Yaouré and Sissingué mines in Côte d’Ivoire and Edikan in Ghana, while continuing to advance the Nyanzaga development in Tanzania. Despite increasing capital returns, Perseus is maintaining an aggressive investment programme aimed at extending mine lives and strengthening its future production profile.
The Chief Executive Officer Craig Jones said the company would nearly double its exploration expenditure to between $70 million and $80 million in FY27, compared with $41 million in the previous year. “What’s in that exploration budget is significant drilling programmes at Yaouré, Edikan and Sissingué, to bring additional material into the production profile,” said Jones. Perseus is also continuing to assess growth opportunities across West Africa. Earlier this year, the company acquired a 9.9% stake in Aurum Resources in Côte d’Ivoire, while it previously terminated its proposed $2.1 billion takeover of fellow West African gold producer Predictive Discovery.
The combination of stronger shareholder distributions and continued investment reflects a capital allocation strategy designed to balance immediate returns with longer-term growth. Perseus ended June with more than $1 billion in cash and bullion and total liquidity of $1.4 billion, including $400 million of undrawn debt. With a stronger balance sheet, elevated gold prices and a growing exploration pipeline, Perseus is positioning itself to return more capital to shareholders without compromising its ability to invest in future production.
