Ernest Henry mine owner Evolution Mining delivered its strongest financial result on record in FY26, including a 63 per cent jump in the group’s underlying net profit to $1.563 billion

The company will pass 60 per cent of its annual cashflow on to shareholders, returning about $833 million for the full year, in line with its new dividend policy.

“The record financial performance is on the back of safe, consistent and reliable operational delivery, complemented by our disciplined approach to cost and capital management,” Evolution (ASX: EVN) managing director and chief executive officer Lawrie Conway said.

“Our high-margin business is generating significant cash flow with a record group cash flow of nearly $1.4 billion.

“The updated dividend policy with a new payout rate targeting 60 per cent of annual group cash flow is sector leading.

“Our record final dividend of 21 cents per share will return about $427 million to shareholders and bring the full year dividend to 41 cents, equal to $833 million.

“We are set to continue our safe, reliable performance in FY27 with guidance expected to sustain our high-margin, high-cash generation position.

“This will further build our balance sheet flexibility as we continue to invest in high-return organic growth projects and deliver high returns to our shareholders.”

New South Wales-headquartered Evolution is the ASX’s second-biggest gold miner. It owns the Ernest Henry and Mount Rawdon sites in Queensland, Cowal and Northparkes in New South Wales, Mungari in Western Australia, and Red Lake in Canada.

The Ernest Henry copper-gold operation returned to full production during the June 2026 quarter following about 300mm of rainfall in the Cloncurry region over a 24-hour period in late December 2025 and above-average rainfall in the March 2026 quarter, temporarily suspending underground production.

This set back production at the Clocurry operation to the tune of about 12koz of gold and 8kt of copper. However it still returned a net mine cash flow of $303 million.

During the year, the board approved the Bert development project, with first production scheduled for FY29. And last month Evolution announced the expansion of copper growth opportunities at Ernest Henry via the acquisition of Carnaby Resources.

Related: Evolution swoops on Carnaby copper holdings

Mount Rawdon continued to process low-grade stockpiles, generating $38 million of net mine cash flow in its final full year of operation (FY25: $67 million).

At the end of June, Evolution received confirmation from the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) that the State Government would not prioritise the proposed Mount Rawdon pumped hydro project.

The company said this decision would have minimal impact on options for Mount Rawdon after the scheduled processing of remaining low-grade stockpiles in the September quarter.