Aeris turns debt-free after strong FY26 and expands Tritton copper reserves

FY26 profit and balance sheet recovery

Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) has entered FY27 with a substantially stronger financial base, reporting $178.5 million in net profit, $290.2 million in EBITDA and cash and receivables of $207 million. The copper and gold producer also finished the year with no material debt after repaying its Washington H. Soul Pattinson loan facility.

Revenue rose 22% to $702.8 million, while operating cash flow more than doubled to $275.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA, which includes items excluded from statutory EBITDA, was $318.2 million compared with $179.6 million a year earlier. The result benefited from higher realised commodity prices and stronger Tritton production, although Aeris did not recommend a dividend.

The balance-sheet repair was partly funded through the $80 million institutional placement and an oversubscribed share purchase plan that raised $21.6 million. Aeris used the proceeds to repay the $40 million drawn under its WHSP term facility. The company also divested its North Queensland copper assets for $5 million in cash, with a further $3 million contingent payment linked to future commercial production.

Tritton becomes the centre of the growth case

Tritton produced 22,999 tonnes of copper in FY26, up 19%, while its mill reached full 1.8 million tonnes per annum capacity in the final quarter. A 232,000-tonne mined-ore stockpile was held at year-end, which Aeris says provides additional support for FY27 production despite geotechnical issues that delayed access to ore at the Murrawombie open pit.

The more consequential shift is in the mine’s future inventory. Tritton’s Ore Reserves rose fourfold to 10 million tonnes containing 180,000 tonnes of copper, while Mineral Resources increased 70% to 33 million tonnes. Exploration at Avoca Tank and Budgerygar contributed to the growth, alongside the Mallee Bull and Wirlong deposits acquired through the Peel Mining transaction. The earlier Tritton growth capital program had already framed FY27 as a heavier investment year around Constellation and the South Cobar assets.

Constellation moved into construction late in the year, with work beginning on a 29-kilometre services corridor and haul road. Its mining lease was granted in July 2026, enabling mining to commence in FY27. Aeris says metallurgical testing has confirmed Mallee Bull ore is suitable for processing through the Tritton plant, but technical studies and permitting remain underway. Peel shareholders received Aeris shares equivalent to about 20.5% of the enlarged company, and acquisition accounting had not been finalised when the financial statements were authorised.

Cracow, Stockman and Jaguar set different tests

Cracow produced 40,599 ounces of gold, down from 45,126 ounces as mined grades declined, although the operation met its production and cost targets. Exploration at the nearby Golden Plateau deposit continued, with assays returned for about 70% of a 14,000-metre drilling program and further work planned in FY27 to support an updated resource estimate and preliminary mine designs. Cracow’s reported Ore Reserves doubled against the previous December 2024 estimate, but contained gold in its Mineral Resource increased in tonnes while falling by 25,000 ounces.

At Stockman, Aeris finalised a conventional flotation processing route and is targeting completion of the feasibility study in the first half of FY27. Jaguar, by contrast, remains in a low-cost care-and-maintenance phase after studies concluded that its remaining resources were insufficient to justify a restart. First-pass drilling of new base-metals targets has been completed, but assays are still pending, leaving exploration rather than production as the immediate test for that project.

Safety and climate disclosures add necessary qualifications

The annual report is not without complications. Aeris’ total recordable injury frequency rate improved to 12.2 from 14.7, but its lost-time injury frequency rate rose sharply to 4.6 from 1.3, mainly reflecting musculoskeletal and hand injuries. The company also reported two environmental incidents during the year, including a contained contaminated-water release at Tritton and a water release at Cracow after storage and transfer capacity was exceeded during significant rainfall.

Aeris published its first mandatory AASB S2 climate disclosures, identifying extreme weather, regulatory change, lower-emissions technology costs and copper demand as material climate-related factors. The specified Scope 1 and Scope 2 disclosures received limited assurance from PwC, but the company has not yet set quantitative emissions-reduction targets and will begin Scope 3 work in FY27. Those disclosures present the growth opportunity and the operational burden in the same frame: copper demand may support expansion, while water, fire, insurance and transition costs remain unresolved over longer horizons.