PERTH, March 30, 2026, 01:16 AWST
- Northern Star quoted 388,238 new shares under its dividend reinvestment plan after paying a 25 Australian cent interim dividend. 1
- The shares were issued at A$26.36 each, equal to about A$10.2 million of reinvested dividends. 1
- Investors are now waiting for April 22 quarterly results after the miner’s March 13 warning on FY26 output. 2
Northern Star Resources said on Thursday it would quote 388,238 new ordinary shares issued under its dividend reinvestment plan, or DRP, which lets investors take stock instead of cash. At the A$26.36 DRP price, the issue amounts to about A$10.2 million of reinvested dividends. 1
The filing matters now because the price was fixed from the average March 6-12 traded price weighted by volume, while DRP elections closed on March 6. A week later, Northern Star warned that hitting the low end of its FY26 production range would be difficult, leaving the DRP price about 42% above the stock’s A$18.55 close on March 27. 3
In that March 13 update, the Perth miner blamed weaker milling performance at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, or KCGM, and lower mining productivity across several areas, especially Jundee, for holding January-February gold sales to 220,000 ounces. The company said FY26 output was now expected to come in above 1.5 million ounces, with the result still heavily dependent on KCGM throughput. 2
The new stock is tiny next to Northern Star’s 1.431 billion shares on issue after the quotation – about 0.03% dilution. That points to routine capital management, not a fresh equity raising. 1
Still, the company is deep in a heavy spending phase. Northern Star said in February it expected FY26 growth capital spending of A$2.315 billion to A$2.425 billion, including the KCGM mill expansion and the Hemi development project, added through the De Grey takeover in 2025. 4
Stuart Tonkin said in February the first-half result showed “resilience and growing returns” and let the board declare a 25 Australian cent interim dividend, fully franked, or carrying Australian tax credits, “despite a soft operating performance.” Northern Star reported A$293 million of net cash and A$1.176 billion of cash and bullion at Dec. 31. 4
By March 13, his tone had shifted. Tonkin said management had “heard the clear feedback from our investors” and would give the market a more detailed medium-term production, cost and capital outlook later this year, while keeping the KCGM mill expansion on track for early FY27 commissioning. 2
Jon Mills, CFA, an equity analyst at Morningstar, cut his fiscal 2026-28 earnings forecasts after the downgrade, pointing to lower production assumptions tied largely to the aging KCGM mill. He said the new, larger replacement mill should resolve most of the production issues, but he now assumes a slower ramp-up and kept a A$15 fair value estimate. 5
The risk is that KCGM slips again before the new plant comes on line. Northern Star itself said FY26 output still carries downside and upside potential depending on throughput, and Mills’ slower ramp view shows analysts are not counting on a quick fix. 2
The next formal update lands on April 22, when Northern Star is due to publish March-quarter results and more detail on FY26 production and costs. With the DRP issue amounting to just 0.03% of stock on issue, that quarterly report looks like the more meaningful near-term marker. 2
