Endeavour Mining PLC on Wednesday said performance in the first half of 2022 was ‘solid’ and it lifted its first-half dividend by over 40%.

The miner, which has assets in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, said revenue for the six months that ended on June 30 increased marginally to $1.32 billion from $1.31 billion a year earlier.

Revenue was helped by a higher realised gold price of $1,872 per ounce, compared to $1,779 a year earlier. Revenue growth, however, was capped by a fall in gold sales volumes.

Pretax profit, however, dropped by 13% year-on-year to $312.0 million from $359.0 million.

Profit was hurt by a $72 million loss on financial instruments, swinging from a $29 million a gain a year earlier. The loss this year was driven by a $58.0 million foreign exchange hit.

Chief Executive Officer Sebastien de Montessus said: ‘We are very pleased with our solid operating and financial performance over the first six months of the year, which has resulted in robust operating cash flow generation of more than $550 million.’

Endeavour declared an interim dividend of 0.40 cents per share, up 43% from the year prior. This totals $100 million. The company said it is targeting a minimum dividend of $200 million for the year.

Looking ahead, the miner said it is well positioned to achieve financial 2022 production guidance of 1,315-1,400 thousand ounces at an all-in sustaining costs of $880 to $930 per ounce.

Shares were up 1.5% at 1,643.00 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

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