ALLIED GOLD ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END 2024 RESULTS: ACHIEVING RECORD QUARTERLY PRODUCTION, ADVANCING OPTIMIZATIONS AND GROWTH PROJECTS, AND STRENGTHENING FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY THROUGH STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

2025-03-26

TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Gold · Canada

Canada NewsWire

TORONTO , March 26, 2025 /CNW/ - Allied Gold Corporation (TSX: AAUC) (OTCQX: AAUCF) ("Allied" or the "Company") is herein reporting its unaudited financial and operational results for the fourth quarter of 2024. Fourth quarter production of 99,632 ounces of gold was in line with the Company's previous guidance of 98,000 ounces to 102,000 ounces and is the highest production by quarter of the year and since the Company was taken public. This strong performance resulted in a full-year production of 358,090 ounces, 4% higher than the previous year. The total cost of sales (4) , cash costs (1) , and adjusted All-in Sustaining Costs ("AISC") (1) per ounce were $1,773 , $1,589 , and $1,708 , respectively. As previously disclosed, production during the quarter exceeded sales as production from Korali-Sud was kept in inventory at Sadiola as of December 31, 2024 , due to in-country administrative delays. This Korali-Sud inventory of 48,939 ounces was sold subsequent to year-end, and had these administrative delays not occurred, sales during the fourth quarter would have been higher by those ounces. As the Company reports AISC (1) on an ounces-sold basis, costs are highlighted on an adjusted basis. Adjusted AISC (1) considers the cost of production of Korali-Sud ounces, as well as royalties and duties payable on sale and export, taking into consideration the 2023 Mining Code in Mali . The ounces used in the denominator consider actual sales and the inventoried Korali-Sud ounces.

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Allied also executed a number of strategic transactions during the quarter and subsequent to year-end, creating a fortress balance sheet and further improving the Company's financial flexibility. The Company completed these transactions with high-quality counterparties, achieving a relatively low-cost of capital, while crystallizing value upfront and bridging the gap between market value and inherent value to market participants.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Financial Results Highlights

Earnings: Fourth quarter net loss of $10.3 million or $(0.03) per share. Fourth quarter adjusted earnings (1) of $9.5 million or $0.03 per share. Including the attributable earnings from the sale of the Korali-Sud inventory, fourth-quarter adjusted earnings (1) would have been $0.09 per share higher.

Cash Flows and EBITDA: Net cash generated from operating activities for the quarter was $49.6 million . Operating cash flows before income tax paid and movements in working capital were a strong inflow of $141.0 million . Including the sales of the Korali-Sud inventory would have bolstered the two metrics by $61.5 million . EBITDA (1) and Adjusted EBITDA (1) for the three months ended December 31, 2024 , were $50.1 million and $47.3 million , respectively. For the full year, EBITDA (1) was $61.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA (1) was $186.2 million , demonstrating a significant increase compared to the previous year.

Strong Financial Position: As of December 31, 2024 , the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $225.0 million . If the sale of the Korali-Sud inventory was included, the cash and cash equivalent would have been higher by over $130 million .

Operational Highlights

Fourth Quarter Production: The Company produced 99,632 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter, in line with the previously issued production guidance of 98,000 to 102,000 ounces. This result was consistent with Allied's previous outlook and guidance that annual production from its producing mines is expected to be 375,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold, with production in the fourth quarter supporting that annualized production range. Record Quarterly Output: Fourth quarter production represents a 16% increase over the average production of the three previous quarters in 2024 and is the highest quarterly production achieved to date by the Company. Performance by Asset: At Sadiola, increased production of 54,210 ounces was driven by a full quarter of production from Korali-Sud oxide ore, yielding 45,056 ounces. The Company has previously indicated that Korali-Sud is an interim step pending the completion of the first phase expansion at Sadiola to achieve consistent annual production of 200,000 to 230,000 ounces. At the Côte d'Ivoire ("CDI") Complex, total production was 45,422 ounces, continuing the solid performance of the third quarter and bolstered by the strong production of Agbaou with 25,163 ounces during the fourth quarter.

Costs Trending Down : Adjusted AISC (1) for the quarter reached $1,708 per ounce improving over the third quarter levels and the Company continued advancing its optimizations and growth projects to realize further improvements to costs. Operational Improvements: Throughout 2024 and continuing in the fourth quarter, management made a series of improvements to its operational plans to ensure a materially stronger fourth quarter and to position the Company to achieve its 2025 objectives and beyond, effectively strengthening and de-risking the production platform moving forward.

Advancement of Key Growth Initiatives

Kurmuk : Earthworks at the plant terrace advanced during the quarter to near completion, while civil works and structural, mechanical, plate, and piping ("SMPP") contractor mobilizations were in progress. Main camp construction, along with engineering and procurement activities, progressed well during the quarter, with the project remaining on track and on budget. As previously guided, construction capital expenditures for 2024 were approximately $100 million . Kurmuk is expected to start production by mid-2026, contributing an estimated 175,000 ounces of gold to the latter half of the 2026 forecast. Sadiola Phased Expansion: As noted above, Korali-Sud serves as a bridge between the current operations at Sadiola and the completion of the first phase expansion, which the Company expects will allow the plant to process up to 60% of higher-grade fresh ore at an increased throughput rate of 5.7Mt/y. The construction activities for this first phase of expansion commenced in the fourth quarter of 2024 and are advancing on schedule and on budget, with earthworks and structural fill progressing well and leading into civil and mechanical activities in the first half of 2025. The remaining investment for the first phase expansion is estimated at approximately $70 million , and the project is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Financing and Strategic Initiatives Highlights

Allied successfully executed a number of strategic transactions during the quarter and subsequent to year-end, creating a fortress balance sheet and further improving the Company's financial flexibility. The Company completed these transactions with high-quality counterparties, achieving a relatively low-cost of capital, while crystallizing value upfront and bridging the gap between market value and inherent value to market participants. The transactions include:

Equity Offering: The Company completed an overnight marketed equity offering delivering aggregate gross proceeds of $161.6 million , and meaningfully increasing trading liquidity thereafter. Kurmuk Funding Package: The Company completed a $250.0 million Kurmuk funding package comprising a gold stream of $175.0 with Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. and a $75.0 million Gold Prepay facility for the Kurmuk development project. The streaming transaction with a partner of the scale and quality of Wheaton validates the inherent value opportunity at Kurmuk. The Gold Prepay facility brings forward cash flows and includes a built-in gold price hedge amidst favourable market prices. Strategic Arrangements: Since mid-2024, the Company has pursued several asset and corporate strategic arrangements and subsequent to year end, the Company announced one such strategic arrangement with a United Arab Emirates -based investment fund the private placement portion of which is planned for closing in the next several weeks with the asset-based portions to follow. Financial Flexibility: The aforementioned initiatives are expected to provide the Company with a fortress balance sheet and financial flexibility to advance its share of the Sadiola phased expansion without relying on operating cash flows following the construction of Kurmuk in 2026. Other operational improvements and production increases are expected to begin generating significant cash flow in the upcoming quarters, providing additional financial flexibility for the Company to balance its allocation of capital and pursue other high return opportunities. This includes further development of its respective CDI Complex mines with the strategic objective of reaching production levels of 180,000 ounces per year for over 10 years at AISC (1) below the industry average. The Company is currently performing a review to advance the opportunities identified in strategic plan to the next phases of definition and planning, including an update on Oumé, which is expected to be completed by year-end along with the advancement of exploration and development targets in the Hiré and Agbaou land packages. Further updates will be provided throughout the year on these initiatives. NYSE Listing: Allied is pursuing a listing on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and it has concluded its introductory call with the NYSE to preview the listing. The NYSE is now engaged in its due diligence process and the ticker symbol "AAUC" has been reserved. The Company is simultaneously preparing its registration statement, listing application and supporting documentation. The Company expects to be listed in the third quarter of 2025; however, there can be no assurance that it will receive listing approval from the NYSE to complete such listing. Allied believes that listing on the NYSE will provide the Company with, among other things, access to a broader investor audience, increased sources of potential capital, improved trading liquidity in Allied's common shares and increased research coverage from U.S. investment banks. Finally, the listing is expected to provide the opportunity for broader index inclusion.

Other Developments

The Company continues advancing discussions with SOREM ( Mali state-owned mining company) to pursue potential mining opportunities in the vicinity of Sadiola and other highly prolific areas in Mali . While definitive arrangements have not been concluded at this time, the Company is encouraged with the prospects under evaluation and discussion and with the cooperativeness and ongoing engagement with in-country authorities.

Sustainability, Health and Safety Highlights

The Company did not report any significant Environmental Incidents for the three months or year ended December 31, 2024 . The Company's Total Recordable Injury Rate was 1.64 for the year ended December 31,2024 . The Company reported ten Lost Time Injuries, resulting in Lost Time Injury Rate of 0.63 for the year ended December 31,2024 . Throughout the year, Allied revised and approved a new sustainability framework, which describes the Company's revised approach to managing sustainability performance.

Operational Results and Outlook

Certain optimizations improved performance throughout 2024, resulting in record production in the fourth quarter of 2024 driven by strong performance at Sadiola and the CDI Complex. At Sadiola, increased production of 54,210 ounces was driven by a full quarter of production from Korali-Sud oxide ore, yielding 45,056 ounces. At the CDI Complex, total production was 45,422 ounces, continuing the solid performance of the third quarter and bolstered by the strong production of Agbaou with 25,163 ounces during the quarter. Fourth quarter production represents a 16% increase over the average production of the three previous quarters in 2024 due to mining sequencing and operational improvements.

In 2025, Allied anticipates producing 375,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold, representing a meaningful increase in production year-over-year. Achieving the higher end of this guided range primarily hinges on capturing opportunities to increase oxide ore feed in Agbaou from the Hiré area, which are currently being studied. Similarly to 2024, production in 2025 is expected to be back-half weighted, with a first-half/second-half split of 45%/55%.

Due to mine sequencing, production for the first quarter of 2025 is expected to be similar to the comparable period in the prior year, while production in the fourth quarter 2025 is expected to be meaningfully higher than the first three quarters of the year. This will be driven by improvements to feed grades resulting from stripping and sequencing at Bonikro and the ramp-up of the first phase of expansion at Sadiola in the fourth quarter. Production in the fourth quarter of 2025 is expected to be 56% higher than in the first quarter of 2025.

OPERATING RESULTS SUMMARY

| | For three months ended December 31, | For years ended December 31, | | | | | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | | Gold ounces | | | | | | Production | 99,632 | 94,755 | 358,091 | 343,817 | | Sales | 64,769 | 93,073 | 313,455 | 343,085 | | Per Gold Ounce Sold | | | | | | Total Cost of Sales (4) | $ 1,773 | $ 1,634 | $ 1,627 | $ 1,600 | | Cash Costs (1) | $ 1,589 | $ 1,398 | $ 1,484 | $ 1,418 | | Adjusted AISC (1) | $ 1,708 | $ 1,593 | $ 1,699 | $ 1,569 | | | | | | | | Average revenue per ounce | $ 2,634 | $ 1,928 | $ 2,327 | $ 1,908 | | Average market price per ounce* | $ 2,663 | $ 1,977 | $ 2,389 | $ 1,943 |

| *Average market prices based on the LMBA PM Fix Price |

The mine-site level cost of sales per ounce, cash costs (1) , adjusted AISC (1) for 2024 were $1,773 , $1,589 , and $1,708 per ounce, respectively, reflecting the improved operational performance of the fourth quarter driven by Sadiola and the CDI Complex.

For 2025, the projected mine-site level AISC (1) is expected to be US$1,690 to US$1,790 per ounce, targeting further operational improvements across the operations. At Sadiola, the cost guidance provided reflects the implementation of the previously announced Protocol Agreement with the Government of Mali over the entire year of operations and the commencement of the first phase expansion in the fourth quarter. Bonikro will incur an anticipated $60 million of capital expenditures related to production stripping during 2025, further exposing higher-grade ore and leading to robust free cash flows in the years that follow when the rock movement and stripping ratio meaningfully decreases. As the waste stripping benefits not only 2025 but also the following two years of production, the AISC (1) per ounce sold figure accounts for the allocation of the stripping spend over the ounces it benefits through 2027. Waste stripping at Bonikro during 2026 and 2027 is expected to be negligible.

Similarly, Agbaou will incur an anticipated $25 million of capital expenditures related to production stripping during 2025, which is expected to lead to improved performance in future years. The Company is pursuing opportunities to increase oxide feed from exploration targets located in the Hiré area mentioned above, providing an opportunity to reduce AISC (1) .

2024 Operational Results

| | Production | Cost of Sales Per Gold Ounce Sold | Cash Cost (1) Per Gold Ounce Sold | Adjusted AISC (1) | | Sadiola | 193,462 | 1,372 | 1,327 | 1,559 | | Bonikro | 86,755 | 1,654 | 1,272 | 1,550 | | Agbaou | 77,874 | 2,065 | 2,008 | 2,207 | | Total | 358,091 | 1,627 | 1,484 | 1,699 |

Sadiola (80% interest), Mali

Sadiola comprises the Sadiola (80% interest) open pit gold mine, located in the Kayes region of Mali , as well as the Korali-Sud open pit gold mine (for which the Company's interest changed to 65% on January 8, 2025 in association with the 2023 Mining Code), 15 kilometres south of the processing plant at Sadiola. The remaining ownership in Sadiola is retained by the Government of Mali .

| Sadiola Key Performance Information

(100% Basis) | For three months ended December 31, | For years ended December 31, | | | | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | | | Operating | | | | | | Ore mined (M tonnes) | 2.44 | 1.20 | 7.17 | 5.02 | | Waste mined (M tonnes) | 6.43 | 8.21 | 24.37 | 25.47 | | Ore processed (M tonnes) | 1.05 | 1.22 | 4.59 | 4.77 | | Gold | | | | | | Production (Ounces) | 54,210 | 41,150 | 193,462 | 171,007 | | Sales (Ounces) | 14,619 | 40,863 | 145,285 | 170,664 | | Feed grade (g/t) | 1.67 | 1.34 | 1.46 | 1.26 | | Recovery rate (%) | 93.8 % | 83.5 % | 87.5 % | 88.8 % | | Total cost of sales per ounce sold (4) | $ 1,965 | $ 1,541 | $ 1,372 | $ 1,500 | | Cash costs per ounce sold (1) | $ 1,862 | $ 1,429 | $ 1,327 | $ 1,405 | | Adjusted AISC (1) | $ 1,682 | $ 1,592 | $ 1,559 | $ 1,533 | | Financial (In thousands of US Dollars) | | | | | | Revenue | $ 38,792 | $ 80,621 | $ 334,584 | $ 327,613 | | Cost of sales (excluding DDA) | (27,293) | (60,934) | (193,176) | (248,413) | | Gross profit excluding DDA (1) | $ 11,499 | $ 19,687 | $ 141,408 | $ 79,200 | | DDA | (1,433) | (2,044) | (6,183) | (7,556) | | Gross Profit | $ 10,066 | $ 17,643 | $ 135,225 | $ 71,644 | | Capital Expenditures (In thousands of US Dollars) | | | | | | Sustaining | $ 3,682 | $ 1,465 | $ 20,064 | $ 7,658 | | Expansionary | 4,666 | 826 | 16,701 | 4,942 | | Exploration | 65 | 428 | 1,200 | 2,266 |

For the three months ended December 31, 2024 , Sadiola produced 54,210 ounces of gold, compared to the 41,150 ounces produced in the comparative prior year quarter. Production in the fourth quarter included significant contribution from ore tonnes from the higher-grade Korali-Sud zone, demonstrating the significant production upside that high-grade oxides can provide to Sadiola and that drove 2024 annual production to 193,462 gold ounces. The Company is actively evaluating the future contribution of Korali-Sud and other new sources of oxide ore identified within the Sadiola mining license, and it expects to provide an update on this upside in due course.

Additionally, exploration is ongoing at Sekekoto West, FE4, FE2.5, S12, and Tambali South to define further near-surface oxide gold mineralization, with the objective of maximizing short-term production and cash flows, and building a growing inventory of Mineral Resources. Lastly, as noted, the Company is considering exploring extensions of the Korali-Sud deposit's sulphide material and the ability to process it in the future.

As of December 31, 2024 , 48,939 ounces of gold produced from Korali-Sud oxide ore were in inventory at Sadiola and sold subsequent to year-end. Including those ounces, adjusted Sadiola sales for the quarter would have been in excess of 62,000 ounces, as most of the quarterly activities were undertaken at Korali-Sud. Due to the timing of the sales of the Korali-Sud inventory, a working capital deficit was recorded as of year-end for accounting purposes. This is due to certain payables being deferred pending the sale of the Korali-Sud inventory.

The timing of sales of Korali-Sud gold resulted from necessary administrative processes related to establishing the new operating company for Korali-Sud and transferring its mining license. Although these processes took longer than initially anticipated due to administrative changes introduced by the 2023 Mining Code, the key formalities related to Korali-Sud have been completed.

Adjusted AISC (1) for the year ending December 31, 2024 , was $1,559 per gold ounce and in line with that previously disclosed. As the Company reports AISC (1) on an ounces-sold basis, rather than ounces produced, costs are highlighted on an adjusted basis, as ounces produced from Korali-Sud were inventoried at Sadiola and sold after year-end. Adjusted AISC (1) considers the cost of production of Korali-Sud ounces, as well as royalties and duties payable on sale and export, taking into consideration the 2023 Mining Code in Mali . The ounces used in the denominator consider actual sales and the inventoried Korali-Sud ounces.