Aya Gold & Silver had a strong second quarter in its mines, but its financial results were below market expectations. The Canadian mining company reported adjusted earnings of $0.23 per share, below the $0.39 expected by analysts. Revenue reached $97m, compared with a forecast of $121m. The company’s shares fell 3.34% after the results were released, from $37.44 to $36.19. The stock remains close to its 52-week high of $40.16.
The company said the revenue gap was mainly caused by the timing of silver sales.
Some silver produced at the Zgounder mine had not been sold by the end of June. That inventory was sold in July.
“The remainder of the inventory held at Zgounder was sold in July,” chief financial officer Ugo Landry-Tolszczuk said. “Things are going very, very well.”
Aya produced 1.68m ounces of silver equivalent during the second quarter. That was 61% more than during the same period last year and 12% more than in the first quarter.
Net income rose to $35m from $8.2m a year earlier.
Operating cash flow reached $48m, compared with $7.7m a year earlier.
The average realised price for silver equivalent also increased sharply. It reached $64.22 per ounce, up 90% from a year earlier.
Zgounder was the main source of the increase.
The mine produced 1.49m ounces of silver during the quarter, up 43% from a year earlier.
The mine also processed an average of 3,889 tonnes of ore per day. Its original design capacity was 2,700 tonnes per day.
Mining reached a record 4,880 tonnes per day.
The processing plant recorded recovery rates above 90%. Aya also had 374,000 tonnes of ore in stock at the end of June.
Boumadine also contributed to the results.
Aya processed 17,153 tonnes of old material from the site during the quarter. The material produced 187,784 silver equivalent ounces.
The operation generated $3.6m in free cash flow.
Boumadine remains an exploration and evaluation project. Aya expects to continue processing the old stockpile for 20 to 24 months from November 2025.
The company plans to carry out 200,000 metres of drilling at Boumadine during 2026.
An updated preliminary economic assessment is expected in early September. A full feasibility study is planned for the first half of 2027.
Aya ended June with $183m in cash and equivalents. It had $136m at the end of 2025.
The company generated $119m in operating cash flow during the first six months of 2026.
“In six months, we generated $119 million in operating cash flow,” chief executive Benoît La Salle said. He also highlighted “the price of silver” as a positive factor.
Aya has kept its full-year production targets unchanged.
Zgounder is expected to produce between 5.2m and 5.8m silver equivalent ounces this year. The company expects a cash cost of $21.50 per ounce.
Boumadine is expected to produce 1m ounces at a cash cost of $10.10 per ounce.
Aya is also expanding its mining activities in Morocco.
The company completed a deal on 6 August to acquire three mining licences and 18 exploration permits covering about 259 sq km.
The areas include Zagora, Agadir-Melloul and Goulmim.
The deal increased Aya’s total land position in the country by 35.4%, taking it from 732 sq km to more than 991 sq km.
Aya listed its shares on Nasdaq in May while keeping its main listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company joined the VanEck Gold Miners Index in June.
Ghislane Guedira became chair of the board after the company’s annual meeting in June.
The company still faces risks from changes in silver prices, the timing of sales and seasonal weather conditions.
The second-quarter earnings miss was clear. But its production, cash flow and mine performance all moved in the other direction.
