Polyus’ first-half profit jumps 20% on high gold prices

Russia’s largest gold producer Polyus posted a 20% year-on-year jump in first-half profit to $1.4 billion on Wednesday, reflecting high global prices that offset reduced sales.

The company’s board, which has previously said it will strike a balance between investment and paying out to shareholders, recommended dividends for the first half of 2025 of 70.85 roubles ($0.8764) per share.

The total paid out will be 67.25 billion roubles.

Revenue increased by 35% to $3.7 billion and EBITDA grew by 32% to $2.7 billion, the company said.

“The growth was driven by an increase in the average selling price of gold in the reporting period, which offset the negative impact of lower sales volumes,” the company said.

At the same time, gold production fell by 11% to 1.3 million ounces. The company confirmed its forecast and said it expects a decrease in output this year due to a planned reduction at its Olimpiada mine.

Since the beginning of 2025, gold prices have gained around 30%, following a 27% increase in 2024. Spot gold was down almost 0.5% at $3,380 per ounce at 1340 GMT.

Russia was the world’s second largest gold producer after China, accounting for 9% of global mine production in 2024. Polyus ranked as the fifth largest gold mining company globally, according to consultancy Metals Focus.

All major Russian gold miners, including Polyus, are under Western sanctions, and the United States, Britain and the European Union banned imports of Russian gold in 2022.

($1 = 80.8455 roubles)

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova, Lucy Papachristou and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Barbara Lewis)