In a nutshell, with record gold prices, with strong and, importantly, safe production, along with continued solid cost control, we are once again delighted to be reporting record financial results across all metrics. We sold that gold at an average price of $3,476 per oz, another record, and a full $20 per oz higher than the spot average in the quarter. At the same time, we continue to work hard to control costs, which means we continue to deliver benefits of these record gold prices to our owners through record margins. Again, if we back out the impact of higher royalties, our year-to-date average cash costs would be $909 an oz, well below the bottom end of our cash cost guidance range for the year.
We continue to strengthen the company, to strengthen the balance sheet, and to return record amounts of cash to our owners. We continue to invest heavily in building the foundations of our future growth, advancing construction, development, and studies of our five key pipeline projects, and investing heavily in an exceptional exploration program. At the same time, we are investing more than we ever have by a wide margin in our exploration program. By delivering on our production targets and managing costs, our investors continue to benefit from margin expansion.
In a record gold price environment, a dramatically strengthened balance sheet and increased direct shareholder returns, we are in the strongest financial position in the company's history. Key financial return metrics such as return on equity could be as high as 20% for the full 2025 year. We have achieved 77% of our full year production guidance to the end of September. Though we have budgeted lower gold production in the fourth quarter, we are confident in achieving the midpoint of our full year production guidance range of 3.4 million oz.
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Full-year gold production | FY2025 | midpoint 3.4M oz (~3.45M oz) |
| Total cash cost | FY2025 | at or near top end of $965/oz range |
| All-in sustaining cost | FY2025 | close to top end of $1,300/oz range |
| Company exploration budget | FY2025 | ~$525M |
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kittilä tons mined per day | +13% | underground productivity improvement program (same fleet/people, less contractor reliance) |
| Kittilä mine-site cost (euro per ton) | -4% | productivity gains offsetting inflation and higher royalties |
| Q3 total cash cost | higher vs prior quarter ($994/oz) | higher royalty expense tied to record gold prices; ~$933/oz excluding royalty impact |
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity/cost optimization | ongoing cost control | elevated as a fourth key message - remote operations (20%+ of tons), fleet management systems, drilling excellence even at $4,000 gold | — |
| Capital allocation / shareholder returns | delevering and returns | $1.6B gross debt cut over 18 months, net cash $2.2B, higher buybacks and potentially higher dividends | — |
| M&A and equity investments | disciplined, opportunistic | Perpetua stake highlighted; new critical-minerals subsidiary (e.g. Canada Nickel) with seed capital; no pressure to act | — |
| Growth pipeline | five key value-driver projects | Detour UG, Canadian Malartic fill/2nd shaft, Upper Beaver, Hope Bay, San Nicolas - ~1.3-1.5M oz potential | — |