Multiple publicly listed gold companies saw significant increases in their performance last year

Securities Daily reporter Shu Yajiang

Recently, Sichuan Gold Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sichuan Gold”) released an eye-catching 2025 annual report. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 1.03B yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 466 million yuan, with year-on-year increases of 60.38% and 87.69%, respectively.

In 2025, gold prices kept hitting new highs. Against this backdrop, the performance of listed companies in the gold sector has shown a collective growth trend. As of April 6, when the reporter’s copy was issued, all 10 A-share listed companies in the gold industry (Shenwan third-level industry) had already disclosed their 2025 annual reports or performance forecasts, and more than half of the companies saw (or are expected to see) year-on-year net profit growth (or the upper limit of the expected year-on-year growth) reach 50% or higher.

Huang Ting, a precious metals analyst from the lead-zinc business unit at Shanghai SteelLink, believes that this year’s gold price may shift from “one-way blowout” to “structural, slow-paced bullishness.”

With optimistic expectations for gold’s price trend, the industry’s fundamentals have also been widely viewed positively by the market. In its annual report, Sichuan Gold said that the core factors supporting gold price movements are unlikely to undergo a fundamental reversal in the near term, providing solid long-term downside support for gold prices, and that the operating environment for the gold industry has “generally remained favorable.”

In its annual report, Sichuan Gold said that China’s gold industry policy framework continues to improve, and the industry has entered a new strategic-upgrade stage of development. At the national level, the country issued for the first time the “Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Gold Industry (2025–2027),” clarifying development directions such as increasing reserves and expanding production, green and intelligent transformation, and breakthroughs in high-end materials; it also released the “Guidelines for Intelligent Development of Metal and Non-Metal Mines (2025 Edition),” promoting safe and efficient development across the industry. The main producing regions at the local level have moved in tandem, further deepening the development of green mines and the promotion of recycling and reuse. Overall, the policy guidance focuses on enhancing resource supply security, accelerating digitalization and green transformation, and cultivating high-quality market players—driving the gold industry toward high-quality, sustainable development, and creating a favorable policy environment for gold companies’ growth.

Looking ahead to 2026, “green transformation and intelligent transformation” and “differentiated development” have become key development keywords for the gold industry.

“China’s gold industry chain is undergoing profound structural adjustments.” Huang Ting believes that the upstream resource end will place greater emphasis on green transformation and intelligent transformation. The core of competition has shifted from scale expansion to resource reserve building and cost control. ESG is gradually becoming a hard policy constraint, and leading enterprises are accelerating their transition to “zero-tailings, zero-waste” and intelligent mines. Medium and small mines that cannot meet ESG standards will face elimination or consolidation.

At an interview with Securities Daily reporters, Gao Chengyuan, Chairman and CEO of Zhuwai Consulting, said: “Looking to the future, the gold industry chain will show a ‘concentration in the upstream,稳健 in the midstream, and differentiation in the downstream’ trend. On the upstream resources side, leading mining companies will dominate supply, and green and intelligent mining as well as overseas resource acquisitions will become the core of competition. Chinese mining companies are accelerating their global footprint. In the midstream smelting and processing segment, China’s production capacity will remain at the leading level; technological innovation and cost control are the key to development. As for demand in the downstream, a structural shift is emerging: central-bank reserve demand and investment demand surpassing jewelry consumption will become the main drivers of growth, while industrial-use gold will remain relatively stable. Overall, the entire gold chain is moving toward resource security, technological self-reliance, and green and low-carbon transformation; companies with resource reserve advantages and global operating capabilities will gain more room for further development.”