Fresnillo (LON: FRES), the Mexico-focused silver and gold miner, rose in early trade today after interim results showed profit more than tripling in the first half of 2026, driven by sharply higher precious metals prices even as output fell and costs rose.
Shares traded at 2,535p shortly after the open today, up 1.48% from yesterday’s close of 2,498p, having earlier touched 2,546.2p. The stock remains well below the 3,860p peak it reached in May and sits within a 52-week range of 1,465.67p to 4,374.56p.
Fresnillo published its interim results for the six months to 30 June before the London open. Revenue rose 74.7% to $3,382.6m and profit for the period jumped 213% to $1,463.4m. Chief executive Octavio Alvídrez said the company had delivered “an exceptional financial performance in the first half of 2026”, adding that “through a combination of solid operational execution and cost discipline, we continued to capitalise on the historic strength of precious metals prices”. The board more than doubled the interim dividend to 43.4 US cents per share, up from 20.8 cents a year earlier, taking the total interim payout to $319.8m, up from $153.3m.
The earnings surge was overwhelmingly a price story rather than an operational one. Average realised silver prices climbed 134.4% to $78.9 an ounce and gold rose 47.3% to $4,666.8 an ounce. Against that, attributable silver production fell 11.4% and gold output dropped 7.3%, while adjusted production costs, the cash cost of running its mines, rose 20.5% to $811.9m on a stronger Mexican peso and higher maintenance and haulage costs. Full-year production guidance was left unchanged.
The share reaction was measured given the scale of the profit beat, suggesting much of the price-driven earnings strength was already anticipated by markets given the well-documented rally in silver and gold prices through 2026.
The more-than-doubled dividend signals the board’s confidence in cash generation even as costs climb, with the payment due on 18 September to shareholders on the register on 14 August.