Coeur Mining, Inc. 2026 Q2 Earnings Call

Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining our call to discuss Coeur's second quarter results. Before we start, please note our cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements and refer to our SEC filings on our website. Starting off on slide three, Coeur's record second quarter results were driven in large part by the first full quarter of contributions from the recently acquired New Afton and Rainy River operations. Quarterly revenue passed the $1 billion mark for the first time in the company's history on the way to record quarterly adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. Lower prices, inflationary pressures, below plan grades at three of our operations, and the pace of production ramp-ups at Rainy River and New Afton were all headwinds during the quarter.

There was also $140 million, or $0.10 per share non-cash impact to second quarter EPS and EBITDA from the acquisition accounting driven by Rainy River's stockpile inventory that's worth highlighting. Off the back of nearly $400 million of quarterly free cash flow, our ending cash balance exceeded $1 billion for the first time in history and is expected to continue increasing rapidly, turning the balance sheet into a significant source of strength. We intend to continue deploying this cash into record levels of exploration investment and into our organic growth projects to help us deliver peer-leading ROIC. We also showed in the second quarter our commitment to returning capital to shareholders as we began to more actively repurchase shares under the expanded $750 million buyback program in the second half of the quarter, and we paid the company's first dividend in 30 years.

The company's growing financial strength leaves us well-positioned, which is expected to further increase with a significantly second-half-weighted production and cash flow profile. Hitting on a couple of second quarter highlights. Rochester, out in Nevada, achieved an important milestone with a new quarterly record of 6.8 million metric tons crushed, a 15% increase over the prior quarter. This progress in establishing crusher consistency and predictability has been a true team effort that deserves acknowledgment. As Mick will walk you through, the team also completed the phase 2A leach pad expansion during the quarter, leaving Rochester poised for very strong second half silver production, given the significant number of ounces placed close to liner. It was also great to see Wharf bounce back with a strong quarter as they returned to more normal operations after recovering from damages to the crusher last November.

We issued an exploration update last month highlighting the ongoing success we're having at our two Mexican operations. Recent results at Palmarejo with the continued emergence off to the east and at Las Chispas with drilling in the gap zone and at other new targets underscores the continued impact of our brownfield exploration investments on our efforts to drive higher returns on invested capital. While our five legacy operations remain on track to deliver their full year guidance, we recalibrated New Afton's and Rainy River's guidance ranges for the nine months of Coeur's ownership in 2026. The Rainy River adjustments reflect a more gradual expected ramp-up in underground production rates this year than previously assumed, and the New Afton modifications reflect the rate of cave growth we're seeing since the C-zone development was completed in April.

Mick will provide additional details on the great work being done to safely and sustainably deliver the performance that we expect from these two new assets. Meanwhile, I'm pleased to report that our post-acquisition integration efforts are advancing according to schedule. Before turning it over to Mick, our addition to the S&P 400 mid-cap index announced on June 8th was another example of how our U.S.-based North American platform of seven well-balanced operations offers investors liquid, high-quality exposure to the positive long-term outlook for gold, silver, and copper. Mick, over to you. Thanks, Mitch.

Coeur's operating results in the second quarter included several important developments that bode well for the strength of our enhanced portfolio as we look forward to the second half of 2026 and beyond. As Mitch mentioned, we saw lower-than-planned grades at Kensington, Rochester, and Palmarejo, which are expected to rebound in the second half, consistent with our guidance. A strong second half tailwind at Rochester, aside from the higher planned grades, is the impressive progress of the crushing circuit, which continues to deliver strong, more consistent performance. Of the record 6.8 million tons crushed in 2Q that Mitch mentioned, approximately 97% ran through all 3 stages of crushing, highlighting the enhanced efficiency and flexibility of the operation as the crushing train moves further into a consistent operating rhythm. The pace of construction for phase 2A of leach pad 6 accelerated during the quarter.

Some of you may recall the initial flush of silver and gold production in 2023 following placement and irrigation of first ore close to liner on pad 6 phase 1. With phase 2A ore placed exceeding 4 million tons through July and growing, we expect a similar spike to underpin strong second half 2026 production at Rochester. Phase 2B of pad 6 is well on schedule, and we expect it to be completed in Q4 this year, providing additional capacity close to liner. Turning briefly to Wharf, the team continued to exceed expectations and complete all repairs ahead of schedule following the fire incident in the crusher building last November. Two contract crushing units augmented ore placement rates on the pads as the repaired Wharf crusher achieved full capacity in May. Contract crushing has been fully demobilized, and normal operations have now resumed.

Moving to the Canadian assets, we have continued to work closely with the New Afton and Rainy River teams over the last four months on integration and mine plan optimization. At New Afton, the primary focus remains on prioritizing healthy cave growth. Executing disciplined cave draw management in these early days is the most important factor we control to protect the long-term health and productivity of C-Zone. We increased tonnage draw from the western portion of the cave at similar grades to the north draw points, and we are still limiting tonnage from the higher-grade eastern portion of the cave following completion of its construction in April. Daily mining rates during the quarter averaged approximately 12,000 tons per day.

We are pleased to report that we saw mining rates tick up further in July, including reaching 14,000 tons per day during the last week of the month, as we've begun to increase draw rates in the west. We expect to achieve targeted throughput of 16,000 tons per day early in the fourth quarter, compared to the end of the second quarter, as assumed in the original New Gold 2026 budget we approved late last year. As a result, we have refined New Afton's partial year guidance to reflect this prudent approach, which is summarized on slide 12. At Rainy River, solid production from phase 4 of the open pit drove free cash flow of $123 million, the highest free cash flow of any mine in Coeur's long history.

Open pit mining, processing, and underground development all performed well during the initial full quarter of Coeur's ownership, while waste stripping activities on phase 5 of the open pit remained ahead of schedule. It is important to note we kept the mill full all quarter via the operation's significant stockpile inventory. We expect the acquired high and medium-grade stockpiles to be depleted by the end of the third quarter, but we will be building up a new stockpile to provide that important level of flexibility with a goal of keeping the mill full at all times. Second quarter production was affected by lower-than-planned underground mining rates, which reflected some short-term execution challenges with the underground mining contractor.

I'm pleased to report that after assuming control of the operation and addressing the gaps we observed, underground mining rates are now on the rise, as evidenced in the performance improvements we saw in July. The gaps did require a relatively modest amount of additional capital and operating costs that Tom will highlight. However, we are expecting a very quick payback. Just to give you a sense, after averaging 2,300 tons per day in the second quarter, underground production rates jumped over 40% to approximately 3,300 tons per day in July. We now expect to achieve our target of 5,000 tons per day by year-end versus the third quarter, as assumed in the original New Gold 2026 budget that we approved late last year. Revised partial year 2026 production guidance at Rainy River is shown on slide 13, which reflects this slightly slower assumed ramp-up of underground mining rates.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

Thanks, Mick. Turning to slide nine, I'll briefly run through our consolidated financial results. Despite being our second lightest expected production quarter this year, our balanced seven-asset portfolio produced quarterly record financial results off the back of the inclusion of our first quarter of our Canadian assets. Some of the many quarterly records included record quarterly revenue of $1.1 billion, a 27% increase quarter-over-quarter. Record EBITDA of $478 million, despite the $141 million non-cash expense related to Rainy River's fair value uplift of the short-term stockpile, which must flow through EBITDA, the P&L, and our reported CAS number. Record free cash flow of $388 million, or more than $4 million per day, an increase of 45% versus last quarter. Our Canadian assets delivered 45% of overall quarterly free cash flow, or approximately $175 million, despite both assets being in ramp-up mode.

Our Q2 results did see lower realized gold and silver prices than Q1, particularly in June. We are also seeing some signs of cost inflation, specifically diesel costs, as shown on slide 11. Slide eight illustrates the tremendous impact of these accelerating cash flows on our balance sheet. Cash of $1.1 billion at June 30 represents a doubling of the balance versus year-end 2025. We paid out approximately 45% of our Q2 quarterly free cash flow, with $110 million of buybacks through June 30, the payment of an inaugural $0.02 dividend, and the elimination of $39 million of our higher-cost capital lease debt. We exited Q2 with liquidity of over $2 billion, leaving no doubt about our balance sheet strength. With expectations for significantly higher production during the second half of 2026, Coeur is poised to deliver even higher quarterly free cash flow for the remainder of the year.