Newmont tops profit estimates, sets $1.4 billion outlay for former Newcrest assets

By Tanay Dhumal and Divya Rajagopal

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Newmont NEM.N on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit as a record rally lifted gold prices and offset lower production and said it would invest $1.4 billion to develop assets acquired through its takeover of Newcrest.

Shares of the world's largest gold miner rose 2% to $127.96 in after-market trading.

Gold prices XAU= hit multiple record highs in recent months, driven by expectations of U.S. interest-rate cuts, heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Prices of the yellow metal averaged $4,135 per ounce in the last three months of 2025, up 56% from a year earlier.

The average realized price was $4,216 per ounce, up nearly 60% from a year earlier, while production fell nearly 24% to 1.45 million ounces, the miner said.

Newmont said production was hit due to planned mine sequencing at Peñasquito, Ahafo South, Yanacocha, Brucejack and Cadia.

The company will spend $1.4 billion to progress near-term development projects including the Cadia Panel Caves, Tanami Expansion 2 and the feasibility study at Red Chris.

The two projects in Australia and Red Chris in Canada were added through its $17 billion takeover of Newcrest in 2023.

Newmont also plans to spend about $1.95 billion in sustaining capital, including advancing critical tailings work at Cadia and Boddington, to extend mine life across its portfolio.

"The focus on operational improvement is high on our agenda and we have teams on the ground continuously supporting at Nevada Gold Mines," CEO Natascha Viljoen said in response to a Reuters query.

Newmont also forecast lower 2026 gold production at 5.3 million ounces, compared with production of 5.89 million ounces last year.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.52 per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.00, according to data compiled by LSEG.