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DATE
Fri, Oct. 30, 2026
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Head of Investor Relations - Sebastian Valencia
- Chief Executive Officer - Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio
- Chief Financial Officer - Daniel Dominguez Vera
- Vice President of Operations - Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos
- Vice President of Business Development and Commercial - Aldo Massa
- vice president of projects - Renzo Macher
- Vice President of Sustainability - Jose Malga
- vice president of Geology and Exploration - Juan Carlos Salazar Caceres
- Chairman - Roque Benavides
- Director - Raul Benavides
- Morgan Stanley - Carlos De Alba
- BTG Pactual - Cesar Perez-Novoa
- Scotiabank - Tanya Jakusconek
- Profuturo AFP - Arturo Rocha
TAKEAWAYS
- Revenue -- $545 million, representing a 27% year-over-year increase driven by higher realized metal prices and increased copper sales volumes from El Brocal.
- Net Income -- $268 million, representing a 50% increase compared to the prior-year period.
- EBITDA -- $261 million from direct operations, an increase of 34% year over year.
- EBITDA Margin -- 48%, reflecting expansion from the same period last year.
- Gold Production -- 29,000 ounces, a 60% decrease versus last year.
- Silver Production -- 3.4 million ounces, a decrease of 21% primarily due to lower planned silver grades at the Yumpaq mine.
- Copper Production -- 13.6 thousand tonnes, an increase of 7% supported by higher ore grade throughput at El Brocal.
- Interim Dividend -- $0.5508 per share, representing 20% of net income for the first nine months of 2026.
- Cash Balance -- $1 billion as of Sept. 30, 2026.
- Net Cash Position -- $307 million, following strong operational performance and $126 million in dividends received.
- Leverage Ratio -- negative 0.25 times, reflecting a strengthened balance sheet.
- Silver Cash Cost -- $11 per ounce at Uchucchacua and Yumpaq, reflecting more selective OCF mining methods and ground support requirements.
- Copper Cash Cost -- $5.47 thousand per metric ton at El Brocal, driven by higher cement consumption for tailings and scheduled maintenance.
- Gold Cash Cost -- $11.03 per ounce at Coimolache, decreasing due to higher payable gold production and stronger byproduct credits.
- San Gabriel Ore Stockpile -- 100,000 metric tons, accumulated as the mining rate stabilized at 1.7 thousand tons per day.
- San Gabriel Plant Throughput -- 1.4 thousand tons per day in Oct. 2026, with expectations to reach 1.7 thousand tons per day by Nov. or Dec. 2026.
- San Gabriel Gold Recovery -- 60% in Oct. 2026, with management projecting a ramp-up to 70% by the end of the year.
- San Gabriel 2027 Throughput Guidance -- 600,000 tons for the full year, with a target of reaching nameplate capacity by the end of 2028.
- Cerro Verde Dividends -- $270 million received year to date, with an additional $50 million to $70 million expected by year-end.
- Owner Mining Capital Expenditures -- $25 million to $30 million projected for 2027 to finalize equipment deliveries for the transition to an owner-operated fleet.
- Orcopampa Life of Mine -- two to three years of remaining life based on current structures, though exploration continues in the vicinity.
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RISKS
- Ortiz Zevallos warned that downstream tailings drying and compaction capacity represent the primary operational bottlenecks for the San Gabriel project, which impacts the ramp-up schedule through 2027.
- Garcia Raggio noted that the company is proactively working on preparations for El Nino to ensure the safety of communities and the continuity of operations.
SUMMARY
Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (NYSE:BVN) reported a 50% increase in net income for the third quarter of 2026, supported by higher realized metal prices and a strengthened net cash position. Management noted that consolidated silver and gold production declined year over year, while copper production at El Brocal rose following higher ore grades. The company is currently executing a transition to owner-operated mining fleets at several units to improve operational efficiency and cost control. During the call, executives provided updated timelines for the San Gabriel project, acknowledging temporary processing constraints related to tailings management while maintaining a long-term target for full capacity by late 2028.
- The San Gabriel project is undergoing filter repairs for its tailings facility, which Macher noted are expected to be completed by April or May 2027.
- Management expects San Gabriel to achieve a steady-state gold recovery rate of 85% by 2028, up from the current 60% to 70% range.
- Buenaventura increased its exploration budget to extend the life of mine and grow reserves across its flagship operations.
- El Brocal is undergoing a throughput expansion from 13,000 to 17,000 tons per day, though Garcia Raggio stated that refined copper output will remain relatively stable in the long term.
- The company will review the future of the Tambomayo mine in the second quarter of 2027 to determine if operations will continue or move into a district exploration phase.
- Renzo Macher stated the company is investigating bioleaching at the Trapiche project to reduce acid consumption and improve engineering designs.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- OCF mining: Overhand Cut and Fill, a selective underground mining method used where the ore or surrounding rock is not self-supporting.
- San Gabriel: A key gold and silver mining project located in the Moquegua region of Peru currently in the ramp-up phase.
- El Brocal: A mining unit in Peru operated by Buenaventura that primarily produces copper, lead, and zinc.
- Yumpaq: A high-grade silver mine that provides ore for processing at the Uchucchacua plant.
- Trapiche: A copper project in the Apurimac region of Peru currently undergoing exploration and engineering studies.
- Bioleaching: A process used in mining to extract metals from ores using living organisms such as bacteria.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Compañía de Minas Buenaventura Third Quarter 26 Earnings Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. And please note that this call is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's call, Mr. Sebastian Valencia. Head of Investor Relations. Mr. Valencia, you may begin.
Sebastian Valencia Carrasco: Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our third quarter 26 results. Today's discussion will be led by Mr. Leandro Garcia. Chief Executive Officer. Also joining our call today and available for your questions are Mr. Daniel Dominguez Vera, Chief Financial Officer Mr. Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos, Vice President of Operations Mr. Aldo Massa, Vice President of Business Development and Commercial Mr. Renzo Macher, vice president of projects Mr. Jose Malga, Vice President of Sustainability Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar Caceres, vice president of Geology and Exploration Mr. Roque Benavides, Chairman and Mr. Raul Benavides, Director. Before I hand the call over, let me first touch on a few items.
On Buenantura's website, you will find our press release that was posted yesterday after the market close. Please note that today's remarks include forward looking statements. That are based on management's current views and assumptions. While management believes these assumptions, expectations and projections are reasonable in view of the currently available information, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements. I encourage you to read the full disclosure concerning the forward looking statements within the earnings results press release issued on 10/29/2026. Let me now turn the call to Mr. Leandro Garcia.
Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio: Thank you, Sebastian. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Buenaventura's third quarter 26 Results. Today, we will review our operational and financial performance and share our priorities for the coming quarters. After the presentation, we will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session. Please go to Slide 2. In this slide-- this slide contains our cautionary statement and important information regarding forward looking statements. I encourage everyone to review it carefully. With that, let's move to the operational and financial highlights of the quarter. The third quarter once again demonstrated the strength of our portfolio and the resilience of our business model.
Starting with production, consolidated gold production reached approximately 29 thousand ounces, 60% lower than in the same period last year. Consolidated silver production was 3.4 million ounces. A decrease of 21%, mainly due to lower planned silver grades at Yumpag. Copper production increased 7% to 13.6 thousand tonnes, supported by higher ore grade throughput at El Brocal. Turning to financial performance. Total revenues increased 27% year over year to $545 million This increase was mainly driven by higher realized prices, together with higher copper sales volumes from El Brocal. EBITDA from direct operations increased 34% to $261 million and EBITDA margin expanded to 48%. Net income increased 50% to $268 million Our balance sheet continued to strengthen.
We ended September with approximately $1 billion in cash and a net cash position of $307 million. As a result, our leverage ratio improved to negative 0.25 times. This strong financial position also allowed the Board of Directors to approve an interim dividend of $0.5508 per share or ADS. Reinforcing our commitment to shareholder returns. Moving now to operating costs. This slide shows the evolution of C1 cash cost across our key operations. Starting with Uchucchacua and Yubak, silver cash cost reached $11 per ounce, The year over year increase mainly reflected the continued use of more selective OCF mining method at Yumpa. Additional ground support requirements the transition to an owner operated fleet and lower plant silver grades.
These effects were partly offset by a stronger byproduct rate and lower commercial deductions. At El Brocal, copper cash cost was $5.47 thousand per metric ton. This increase mainly reflected higher cement consumption for tailings management schedule maintenance and the transition to owner operated equipment. In El Brocal, copper production increased 7% year over year. And operation reached a processing rate of 13.5 thousand tonnes per day by the End Quarter End. At Coimolache, cash cost declined to $11.03 per ounce. Supported by higher payable gold production and a stronger by product credit. Overall, we continue to focus on cost discipline. Productivity improvement and stable operating performance across the portfolio. Next, let's review the progress at San Gabriel.
In Slide 5, please. During the quarter, we continued to advance the initiatives required to support the ramp up. Mining activities continued throughout the quarter. With the mining rate stabilizing at 1.7 thousand tons per day by quarter end and generating an ore stockpile of approximately 100 thousand metric tons. During the quarter, we also commenced undercut mining below cemented fill, and the ramp up remains ahead of plan. Within the processing plant, the first phase of the filtration system reinforcement was completed. During this quarter. Our focus is now on optimizing filter performance through the first half of 27. Metallurgical recovery is expected to reach approximately 70% in the fourth quarter of 2026 this year.
On the tailing side, filter tailing compaction also commenced during the quarter. The current facilities are expected to support throughput of 1.5 thousand tons per day in the fourth quarter. Additional drying areas are expected to be completed by the second quarter of 27. Ahead of the next dry season. While the ramp up has faced temporary processing constraints, we are addressing these challenges systematically and safely, with a clear focus on reaching full operating capacity. Let me now turn to our strong cash generation during the quarter. The third quarter was marked by strong cash generation.
Turning to cash flow, strong operational performance and $126 million in dividends received supported the $242 million of free cash flow generation in the third quarter. Consequently, we ended the quarter with a cash balance of $1 billion. This liquidity give us significant flexibility to advance our growth projects. Reinforce operational capabilities and continue returning value to our shareholders. Let me go on now to our closing remarks. Before we open the line for questions, I would like to highlight a few key messages from this quarter. First, San Gabriel. We are actively addressing the operational challenges we have identified. And our team remains fully focused on reaching full ramp up. We are optimizing filter performance and improving recovery rates.
While tailings storage capacity continues to ramp up. Second, our flagship operations. We continue advancing initiatives to unlock their full value. On the operational side, we are transitioning to an owner operated mining fleet and increasing capacity at our mines. In parallel, we have increased our exploration budget. Which allow us to extend life of mine. Grow our reserves and the resources and develop near mine targets. These 2 fronts complement each other. Supporting both near term efficiency and long term sustainability. Third, preparing for El Nino. We have been working proactively on this front. We have already made significant progress. Our priority is the safety of our people and communities. And the continuity of our operations. Finally, shareholder returns.
Quarter, we distributed an interim dividend of equivalent to 20% of our net income for the first 9 months of 2026, reflecting our commitment to creating long term value for our shareholders. The annual dividend will be proposed by the Board at its next meeting. Thank you, and we will now be happy to take your questions.
Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, dial in by phone and press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. Make sure your mute function is turned off And if you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star and then 2. The first question will come from Carlos De Alba with Morgan Stanley.
Carlos De Alba: Yes. Thank you. Good morning-- good afternoon, actually. So first 1 on San Gabriel. If you can give some color as to how the performance in October has been Maybe you can comment on the mining rate if you continue to be around the 1.7 thousand tons per day or given the inventory that you have already accumulated, maybe you are slowing down a little bit. And similarly, on the process plant, what is the rate at which that you have average in October? Just overall, you see, you expect to see an improvement already palpable in the fourth quarter in terms of production and cost. Or this is something that we should maybe only see in 2027?
And then my second question is on Trapiche. If you could maybe provide an update on the latest developments for that project. And also would you consider developing Trapiche with a partner that maybe not only derisk the project from a financial point of view, given the size that it could the size of the CapEx for the project, but also maybe complement your expertise if you find someone that has open pit mining at altitude, experience for copper extraction? Thank you.
Operator: Thank you, Carlos, for your question.
Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio: In general, we have advanced very well with San Gabriel. Juan Carlos should make a more. Give you more color about how we are going forward with the recoveries and production. And in terms of Trapiche, of course, we are open to de-risk the investment, evaluating the possibility to have a partner there. And the current state of the of the project. Maybe Renzo could give you an advancing view of which is the current point of the of the project. Please, Juan Carlos.
Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos: Thank you, Leandro. Thank you, Carlos, for your question. Regarding San Gabriel, we are running now in the processing plant at an average of 1.4 thousand tons per day. We are continuing with the ramping up of the processing plant. We expect to be running at about 1.7 thousand tons per day. 1.7 thousand tons per day in November, December. That should be the expected throughput for 2027. The processing plant by itself is not the constraint, the constraint is always down processing downstream in the drying of the tailings and the compaction of the tailings. So that is going to be the bottleneck for 2027. Regarding gold recovery, October, we will reach something around 60%.
We are ramping up to 65%, 69%, very close to 70% along the quarter. Up to December. So that is the average that we will have as an entry point in 2027, 70% gold recovery for 2027. Probably more information on that, we will be giving more color about that in. During the investor days, a couple of weeks down the road in New York.
Renzo Macher: Please, Renzo. Yes. In regards to Trapiche, we have started some drills, about 20 thousand drills, half of it for exploring the primaries, and the other half to get new samples new, fresh samples to continue with the investigation on bioleaking to see if we can reduce the acid consumption. And we continue our work to deal with the project advancing the engineering and permits for the access road and the power line are very important for the project. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The next question will come from Cesar Perez-Novoa with BTG Pactual. Please go ahead.
Cesar Perez-Novoa: Yes. Thank you. 2 questions. Coming back to San Gabriel with around 100 thousand tons of ore stockpiled, and the mining rates having stabilized at around 1.7 thousand tons. What processing throughput should we expect by mid-27? And what is the timeline to reach nameplate capacity? Capacity, not the repairs, but the effective nameplate capacity and the effective production rates. And my second question is on El Brocal. You have reached 13.5 thousand tons by the end of the third quarter. But grades and recoveries have declined. How much additional production growth can come from throughput increases versus requiring grade improvement. In the press release, you also comment that cement consumption for tailings continues to pressure costs.
Is this a temporary issue or should we expect the reported cash costs profile in the third quarter to persist into 2027? Thank you.
Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio: Thank you, Cesar. Well, in terms of El Brocal, we are working on the expansion of throughput from 13 thousand tons per day to 17 thousand tons per day. However, the copper the refined copper, the fines of copper will be almost the same. In the long term But in the case of San Gabriel, we are preparing our budget for the following for the following year. We are expecting to have a throughput between 2,000 to 2.5 thousand at the end of 2027, very close to the 2028 and the. You are. Sorry. Your last question, Cesar, was around the tonnage of Yep. Yep. Yeah.
On San Gabriel, the nameplate capacity, which I assume it would be late 2027 or beginning of 2020 and then the production profile from gold ounces? Yeah. that is Yeah. Maybe Juan Carlos can give you the more color in. At least exact number of production.
Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos: Okay. Yeah. Okay. Cesar, thank you for your question. Yep. The average production for 2027 is going to be in the order of 600 thousand tons for the whole year 2027. And in 2028, we expect to be around 800 thousand tons per year. But at the end of 2020, we expect to reach nameplate capacity. Again, the problem is not in the processing plant, the bottleneck is actually in the capacity of the drying areas and also the available area in the dry stacking. In order to compact the whole production in a organized way. So we to have more available area.
Remember that the tailing dam, in the case of San Gabriel is dry stacking and we are starting right now at the bottom of a V-shaped valley. So we have a very small area at the bottom and as long as we are making the compaction of the tailings, we move step by step upwards and gain more available area for compaction. The more area, translate into more capacity for compaction or more tons of tailings to be compacted. So will be reaching the full nameplate capacity by the end of 2028. Okay. Alright. Understood. Thank you.
Operator: The next question will come from Tanya Jakusconek with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Tanya Jakusconek: Great. Good morning, everybody. Just wanted to finish off on Saint Gabriel. Maybe someone can just update me on what the ultimate recovery is expected? Is 70% of what we are getting? It seems a bit low. So maybe what the ultimate recovery is and how do we get there? And then the second thing I want to have an update on San Gabriel is how is the structure of the tailings facility How is the repairs going? And are we on track to repair the structure?
Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio: Thank you, Tanya. Juan Carlos, please.
Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos: Yeah. The expected recovery for San Gabriel gold recovery is in the order of 85%. We are ramping up We are doing all the we are we have been needed to add additional reagents to facilitate the cyanidation process. So we are in the process of implementing that right now as of today. And that is the reason we are ramping up to 70% by December. The gap to reach 85% is in a ongoing process. Probably, need to add additional circuits to our flow sheet in order to achieve that number. That has to be tested. it is something that we have preliminary results so far. We believe we are going to be reaching that in 2028.
So it is going to take a little bit more of time to get not only to full nameplate capacity as throughput, but also to reach the full project expected recovery of gold for gold. Regarding the repairs for the press filters, we are ongoing with the preliminary repairs We started by the end of September with these works for repairing the 2 of the 3 filters. We expect to have all the 3 filters set up, repairs and with supports, the steel and concrete support. Ready by April, May next year. So at that time, after the rainy season in Peru, we will have our 3 filters for tailings ready for production. Okay.
And can you remind me when you get to steady state which nameplate capacity in 2028? What do you expect your mining cost per ton to be and what would the production level in ounces be? Okay. We should be around 1 million tons per year that is about 3 thousand tons per day. And operating cost at that time will be in the order of $180 per ton? Okay. And are we looking at production of 150 thousand ounces? I just forget what the grade will be ultimately with And I say that because your recovery is moving, your grade is moving. So what do you think a steady state production level is?
I think it is going to be 100 and I think it is about, Tanya, 110 thousand 120 ounces of gold per year. Okay. that is helpful. Thank you. And then I wanted to also ask, you mentioned you want to go to owner mining at your operations. Can you, number 1, remind me what operations you wanna go to owner mining? And number 2, what amount of capital should I be thinking about as you buy all the trucks and etcetera, etcetera, that is going to be high CapEx, is it not to go to owner mining? Yes. The number 1 is Uchucchacua-Yumpag right now is 100% mined and developed by Buenaventura.
We already bought the area of 75% of the equipment. We have an outstanding deliveries of equipment underground fleet. For the first quarter of 27 in the order of $6 million additional equipment. Most of the CapEx has already been made. The equipment were delivered. In the case of Uchucchacua, we have about 75% of the mining done by Buenaventura, probably 50% of the development. In the case of El Brocal, we are right now with let me put it the other way, we will reach it the other way, we will reach 100% of the production from the underground mine by Buenaventura by the second quarter of 27.
And at the same time, we will reach almost 50% of the development. The other 50% of the developments in the more extended areas will be done by contractors. And finally, in San Gabriel, we have now 100% of the production and about 75% of the developments done by Buenaventura. Okay. So when I think of all of the CapEx you would need to put in for equipment and other should I be thinking under $50 million? I am just trying to get a sense Yes. Next year, I think putting altogether, I think it is in the order of $25 million for next year.
All the deliveries of underground fleet that will be delivered by first and second quarter I think it is in the order of $25 million $30 million Okay. that is helpful. Thank you.
Tanya Jakusconek: And then my final question for Daniel. Cerro Verde and the dividend, can you just remind us again what you are expecting We keep seeing a nice dividend come from them. What are you expecting for dividends for 2026? And how should I be thinking for 2027?
Daniel Dominguez Vera: Well, this year, Cerro Verde has already disbursed $270 million and we expect an additional dividend by the end of the year should be in the order of $50 million to $70 million. Okay. So should I be thinking 300 million for next year? Not necessarily. This is something that we have to discuss first. We are conservative with the with the plans of Cerro Verde, and we normally consider around $250 million. But maybe we will have additional information for that in the Investor Day.
Tanya Jakusconek: Okay. Thank you so much for taking my questions.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we will be concluding today's audio question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Sebastian Valencia, Head of Investor Relations for any webcast questions.
Sebastian Valencia Carrasco: Thank you, operator. The last question comes from Arturo Rocha of Profuturo AFP. What is the remaining life of mine for our Orcopampa and Tambomayo mines as of today? Has any consideration been given to extending the life of mine for them?
Juan Carlos Ortiz Zevallos: Yeah. Did you allow me, Leandro? Yes of course. Thank you. Well, regarding that, we are continuing to do exploration in both mines. In the case of Orcopampa, we see in previous years, we have a short term life in the order of 2-3 years to continue mining as we know the structures, but we continue exploring underground and starting an exploration in the vicinity of the operations. In the case of Tambomayo, we are getting, I think, close to the end of the life of mine.
And by the second quarter of 27, we will review if we can continue or make a partial hold of operations in the mine and be focused more on the district exploration where we are having very good results. From the exploration that was performed during this year, 2026. So Orcopampa will keep running for at least 2-3 years more And in the case of Tambomayo, we will review our expectation to continue mining in the second quarter 27.
Operator: At this time, there are no further questions. I would like to turn the call over to the operator. Thank you. That concludes the question and answer session of today's conference call. We would like to turn it back over to management for any closing remarks.
Leandro Luis Martin Garcia Raggio: Thank you, operator. I want to thank you all for your time today. And I wish you an excellent day and best for this year-end. See you. In 2 weeks, in Buenaventura Day.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes Buenaventura's third quarter 26 Earnings Results Conference Call. We would like to again thank you for your participation You may now disconnect.
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