Hochschild Mining in London suffers setback after cutting its 2025 production forecast.

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Hochschild plunged on the London Stock Exchange ( FT-SE 100 ) after lowering its full-year production forecast and raising its cost estimates due to operating difficulties at its Mara Rosa mine in Brazil . Shares of the company, which extracts, processes, and sells gold and silver deposits, fell nearly 20% at the start of trading but recovered some of their losses, though they continue to trade sharply lower.

Specifically, the company now expects only 35,000-45,000 ounces of gold from the Brazilian site in 2025, less than half the previous forecast of 94,000-104,000 ounces. The overall attributable production forecast has been reduced to 291,000-319,000 gold equivalent ounces, from the previous 350,000-378,000, while cost expectations have been raised to $1,980-2,080 per ounce from $1,587-1,687. The group has also forecast higher spending at Mara Rosa, with maintenance and development capex estimated at $29-30 million, including $18 million for remediation work.

Sales did not spare the company, despite Hochschild reporting higher pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, thanks to increased production and pricing that boosted revenues. In the first six months of 2025, Hochschild reported revenues increased 33% year-over-year to $520 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 27% to $224.5 million. Adjusted pre-tax profit was $109.3 million, compared to $83.1 million the previous year. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $0.12 from $0.10 in the first half of 2024. Additionally, Hochschild produced 161,597 gold equivalent ounces in the first half, up from 152,792 a year earlier, and 13.4 million silver equivalent ounces versus 12.7 million previously.

The production forecast update follows the mining company's previous warnings that gold production at the site would be significantly lower . Shares had already plunged more than 20% in June after the company temporarily suspended processing at Mara Rosa for general maintenance and repairs to mechanical filters.

Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Landin acknowledged operational difficulties in Brazil but said the company was taking corrective measures : “Although challenges at our Mara Rosa mine impacted first-half performance, we are confident we now have the right team in place to lead a recovery,” he said.