AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) reported record cash flow, earnings and dividend declarations in its Q4 and full-year 2025 results call, highlighting improved operational performance, a higher gold price environment and continued focus on cost discipline and capital allocation.
Safety and operational performance
CEO Alberto Calderon opened the call by emphasizing safety performance, reporting the company’s lowest-ever total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) of 0.97 injuries per million hours worked. Calderon said the company’s safety outcomes support operational excellence, pointing to more stable plant operations and maintenance execution.
Record cash generation and balance sheet shift
Calderon said the company generated more than $1 billion of free cash flow in Q4, its highest quarterly figure, and more than triple the free cash flow produced in the same quarter a year earlier. He added that record results enabled a $875 million dividend declared for Q4 alone.
CFO Gillian explained that for 2025, free cash flow rose to a record $2.9 billion, nearly triple the $956 million generated in 2024. She attributed the improvement to higher gold prices, increased production, disciplined cost management, working capital management and capital allocation.
Key financial and balance sheet items discussed on the call included:
- Cash flow of almost $3 billion, up 104% year-on-year, according to Calderon
- Adjusted EBITDA of $6.3 billion, up 129%
- Basic earnings of $2.6 billion, up from $1 billion in 2024
- Net cash from operating activities of $4.8 billion (Gillian also referenced $4.9 billion in operating cash flow in a separate slide walkthrough)
- A balance sheet turnaround from $567 million net debt at end-2024 to $879 million (about $1 billion) net cash at end-2025
- $4.4 billion in liquidity at year-end, including $2.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents plus undrawn facilities
Dividend framework and shareholder returns
Management emphasized the company’s capital allocation framework and its dividend policy, which includes a fixed quarterly payout of $0.125 per share (around $63 million) and an annual “true-up” bringing total payout to 50% of free cash flow. In 2025, the company made additional distributions, including an extra $350 million payment that contributed to the Q4 dividend total of $875 million.
Gillian said total dividends declared for 2025 were a record $1.8 billion, or $3.57 per share. Calderon described the approach as a demonstration of confidence, noting the company ended 2025 at “net cash zero” after paying out substantially all cash generated for the year, and said future decisions would depend on conditions, including the gold price.
In the Q&A, management indicated it would not commit to a specific higher payout ratio beyond the existing policy, describing the incremental 2025 payout as a step tied to balance sheet positioning. Calderon also said buybacks remain part of the company’s capital return “toolkit,” but that in this instance a supplemental dividend was preferred, and the company would take decisions “one step at a time.”
Production, costs, and 2026 guidance
For 2025, Gillian said gold production increased 16% year-on-year to 3.1 million ounces, reflecting “solid execution across core assets.” Managed operations production rose 19% to 2.8 million ounces, driven mainly by the full-year inclusion of Sukari and a 20% production increase at Obuasi. She said the average gold price for 2025 was $3,468 per ounce, up 45% from 2024.
Costs were described as pressured by inflation and royalties, partially offset by lower energy prices, with oil down around 14% year-on-year. Gillian said managed operations cash costs were up 5% to $1,252 per ounce, and managed operations AISC rose 5% to $1,751 per ounce. She also said total cash costs were marginally above the guided range due to higher royalties tied to the higher gold price.
For 2026, the company guided:
- Group gold production of 2.8 million to 3.17 million ounces
- Total cash costs (managed operations) of $1,335 to $1,455 per ounce
- Sustaining capital of $1.0 billion to $1.14 billion
- Non-sustaining capital of $785 million to $835 million
Gillian said cost guidance reflected a mix of royalties and expected inflation and foreign exchange impacts, and that the year would involve higher material movement across underground and open pit operations. Management also discussed planned investment in tailings storage facilities at Obuasi and Siguiri, additional waste stripping at Sukari, and ongoing investment in Nevada.
Nevada growth: Arthur Gold Project and permitting path
A major theme of the call was progress in Nevada, particularly the Arthur Gold Project. Calderon called it a “Tier 1 discovery” and highlighted a first-time mineral reserve of 4.9 million ounces at Merlin, calculated at $1,950 per ounce. Management described Arthur as a district-scale opportunity comprising the Merlin and Silicon deposits, with a mineralized footprint of approximately 2.7 kilometers by 1.3 kilometers, and said the deposit is largely oxide and suitable for conventional processing.
Calderon outlined pre-feasibility study metrics including an initial nine-year mine life, expected production of roughly 4.5 million ounces over that period, average annual production around 500,000 ounces with early years “edging up towards” 800,000 ounces, and estimated cash costs around $780 per ounce with AISC of $950 per ounce. Initial project capital was estimated at $3.6 billion, which management noted is subject to typical pre-feasibility stage margins of error. Calderon said returns at this stage were “well north of 20%,” and that feasibility-level environmental, hydrological, and community baseline studies are underway.
In Q&A, management said it plans to target an additional 1 to 1.4 million ounces of reserve conversion at Arthur during 2026 through ongoing drilling. Marcelo Godoy said the project was sized at 12 million tons per year as an optimal scale in the pre-feasibility work, and that additional resources would be expected to extend mine life at that throughput. On timing, management said it intends to start the feasibility study in Q2 2026 and aims to finalize it in Q4 2027. Godoy said federal permitting would be started in Q1 2027, while acknowledging that the length of regulatory processes is not fully within the company’s control. He also said the company is targeting a record of decision (ROD) “before the end of this decade” and production “in the beginning of the next decade.”
Management also addressed water concerns in Nevada, saying it has adapted project design to reduce water use and is engaged in constructive discussions with NGOs, supported by hydrogeological modeling.
Elsewhere in Q&A, Calderon said a prior CVSA sale process was not pursued after gold and silver prices changed materially, adding that CVSA is generating strong cash flow and that the team has extended mine life “into 2030,” though this has not yet been formally declared. He also said the company continues to review M&A opportunities but is primarily focused on organic growth given the difficulty of paying premiums and still adding value.
About AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.
The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.
