Investing.com -- Shares of Hochschild Mining PLC (LON:HOCM), the London-listed precious-metals miner, surged about 15% on Wednesday after the company reported a shift to pretax profit, backed by increased precious-metal prices and a surge in gold production.
The company announced a pretax profit of $177.2 million, a significant improvement from its $43.5 million loss in 2023, when restructuring charges and impairments affected its performance.
The company has also reinstated its dividend payout and recommended a final dividend of $1.94 cents per share, totaling $10.0 million. In addition, Hochschild revealed a new dividend payout policy, based on allocating 20% to 30% of its attributable free cash flow.
The company's revenue grew by 37% to $947.7 million, bolstered by a 19% increase in gold prices and a 22% rise in silver prices.
Hochschild's full-year production stood at 347,374 gold equivalent ounces. Looking forward, the miner is targeting a production range of 350,000 to 378,000 gold equivalent ounces for 2025.
