Capital (LON:CAPD) executives said the company delivered a “tale of two halves” in its full-year 2025 results, with a weak first half followed by a sharply improved second half that brought earnings momentum into 2026. Management also issued 2026 guidance calling for a return to more than 20% revenue growth, supported by new contracts, improving utilization in mining services, and continued progress at its laboratory unit.
Business overview and revenue mix
Executive Chair Jamie Boyton opened the call by outlining Capital’s three operating divisions: drilling, mining, and laboratories. He said drilling remains the largest contributor at roughly 60% of operating revenue, while mining and laboratories each represent about 20%.
Boyton also highlighted Capital DI, the company’s venture capital fund, which he said had just under $100 million under management at period end and is designed to complement the services business. He added that the company’s Capital Innovation team continues to trial and adopt new technologies across the platform.
2025 results: second-half rebound and balance sheet changes
Boyton said full-year 2025 revenue and adjusted EBITDA were “pretty much essentially flat” year-over-year, though cash flow from operations improved. He attributed the better second-half performance in part to the mining division returning to higher activity after a lull as contracts ended in late 2024. In the second half of 2025, Capital put most of its mining fleet to work at the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, which Boyton said restored mining revenue and carried momentum into 2026.
MSALABS was another key point of emphasis. After what Boyton described as a heavy investment period in 2023 and 2024, he said MSALABS shifted from being loss-making to profitable in the second half of 2025 and had “continued that into 2026.”
Chief Financial Officer Rick Robson noted a prior-year restatement tied to historical payroll tax calculation issues across 2023 and 2024 in one operating country. The restatement resulted in a $1.3 million downward adjustment to previously reported 2024 EBITDA, and Robson said this was embedded in the comparative figures presented.
Robson said the second-half 2025 adjusted EBITDA margin exceeded 25%, a level he said the company anticipates continuing in 2026. He added that headline net profit after tax was “clearly flattered” by gains from the investment portfolio, while operational NPAT was broadly flat year-over-year.
Taxes, cash flow, leverage, and dividends
Robson said the effective tax rate on a headline basis was 24%, again influenced by investment portfolio gains. On an operational basis, however, he said the effective tax rate was elevated and increased in 2025 to “over 60% for the year.” He attributed that to the 2025 tax charge including a provision for higher revenue tax rates in Tanzania following a court ruling that increased applicable rates for mining services companies. Robson said the impact was amplified by subdued profitability in the first half. Looking ahead, he said the company expects the operational effective tax rate to moderate toward the “mid-thirties” during 2026, particularly given stronger profitability expectations.
Cash flow from operations increased due to improved profitability and a favorable working capital movement. Robson said the working capital benefit was largely driven by mobilization and establishment payments received on the Reko Diq contract as Capital mobilized “in record time.” He also said higher debt repayments reflected a portion of the revolving credit facility being paid down with proceeds from a December capital raise, while noting the facility can be redrawn to fund growth in 2026.
Management said the company raised $40 million in gross proceeds in the fourth quarter of 2025 to support growth and provide balance sheet capacity. Boyton said the rationale was to position the company to secure capital equipment amid what he sees as a strengthening cycle, drawing a parallel to 2007–2013 when equipment availability tightened during the prior upcycle. Robson reported year-end leverage of 0.4x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, compared with closer to 1x previously, and said this provides capacity to fund growth.
On capital returns, Robson said the company maintained its dividend policy, extending to 12 consecutive years of payments. The company declared a final dividend of $0.013 per share, bringing the full-year dividend to $0.026 per share, in line with 2024.
Capital DI and commodity backdrop
Boyton said Capital DI’s portfolio was valued at $97.5 million at December 31 and emphasized that the valuation was after returning all capital initially invested by the parent company, “and more,” back to the parent. He said the fund has delivered about 64% CAGR since the investment process was formalized.
He pointed to two investments—Predictive in Guinea and WIA Gold in Namibia—as examples where Capital DI identified opportunities early and contributed constructively to the discovery of what he described as “two of Africa’s next emerging gold mines.”
Discussing the broader market environment, Boyton said gold and copper represent more than 80% of Capital’s commodity exposure and noted that gold and copper account for roughly 75% of drilling industry revenue. He also argued that capital markets activity has exceeded the prior 2011 peak, while global exploration spend remains below previous-cycle levels, supporting his view that the industry is still in the early stages of a multi-year demand cycle for services.
2026 guidance and Q&A highlights
Capital issued 2026 guidance for group revenue of $410 million to $440 million, which management said represents just over 20% year-over-year growth. The company guided laboratory revenue of $85 million to $95 million and capital expenditures of $55 million to $65 million.
During the Q&A session, Boyton addressed several operational and strategic topics:
- Reko Diq security: Boyton said Capital has not seen changes to security protocols or disturbances at the Reko Diq site in recent months and that protocols remain strict. He said he visited in February and did not feel unsafe, adding the business is performing well.
- Barrick review of Reko Diq: Boyton said he would defer to Barrick’s public releases regarding its review and possible North American IPO. He said Capital does not believe there is contractual risk and reported that the project is “full steam ahead,” with scope and volumes increasing consistent with its contract.
- Drilling pricing and tenders: Boyton said the demand environment tightened in the back half of 2025, with rate increases beginning to come through and being implemented. He emphasized improving “quality” in the tender pipeline, including more long-term in-pit services opportunities, and said he expects additional news flow over the next six months.
- Energy prices: Boyton said fuel is a small line item—“sub $2 million” across the business—because customers largely provide fuel under contract terms, limiting profit impact from higher energy prices.
- New investments: Boyton said Capital DI made a private investment in the Armenia region for a prospective copper company and participated in a recent raise for Apollo, which has an asset in Gabon and has secured a tungsten asset. He said the team is actively reviewing about 10 opportunities.
- South America: Boyton said there are no immediate plans to expand drilling or mining operations into South America, but the laboratory business already has work in Guyana and some flow from Suriname, along with work from Ecuador, Argentina, and continued growth intentions for labs in the region.
Management closed the call by reiterating confidence that Capital is positioned at the “front end” of a sustained demand cycle, citing client free cash flow strength, increased long-term tenders, and early 2026 contract momentum.
About Capital (LON:CAPD)
Capital Limited is a leading mining services company providing a complete range of drilling, mining, maintenance and geochemical laboratory solutions to customers within the global minerals industry. The Company’s services include exploration, delineation and production drilling; load and haul services; maintenance; and geochemical analysis.
The Group’s corporate headquarters are in the United Kingdom and it has established operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania and United States of America.
Our brands include Capital Drilling, Capital Mining, MSALABS and Well Force International.
Capital Drilling provides a complete range of drilling solutions for projects across the mining cycle from exploration to production.
Capital Mining provides Load and Haul services for clients from development to fully operational mine sites.
MSALABS are a global provider of geochemical laboratory services for the exploration and mining industries and have an exclusive agreement with Chrysos Corporation to deploy their revolutionary PhotonAssay technology globally.
