Mineral & Financial Investments Reports Strong NAV Growth and Positive Outlook for 2025

FY2025 audited results: NAV up 19.5% to £13.679 million and NAVPS to 34.5p

Mineral & Financial Investments (AIM: MAFL) has posted a strong year to 30 June 2025. Net Asset Value (NAV) rose 19.5% to £13.679 million, with fully diluted NAV per share (NAVPS-FD) up 18.5% to 34.5p. Profitability improved too: net profit was £2.173 million, or 5.8p basic EPS and 5.4p fully diluted.

That performance came despite an 8%+ decline in the US dollar against sterling, which dented reported returns. Management estimates NAV would have been about £1.1 million (2.75p per share) higher if FX rates had stayed flat year on year. Notably, the company continues to carry no long-term liabilities.

Quick take: the good and the watch-outs

• Positive: NAV up 19.5% and NAVPS-FD up 18.5%; Investable Capital up 19.6% to £14.091 million.
• Positive: Gold-heavy positioning paid off; deferred gold delivery contracts up 59.4% since inception.
• Positive: New recognition of royalty value – Toburn’s 2% NSR on Bellavista now included and generating income post year end.
• Watch-out: 80% USD exposure was a headwind; cash is low at 1.5% of Investable Capital versus a 10% internal guide (mitigated by near-cash precious metals holdings).
• Watch-out: 54% of investments are strategic and largely un-revalued pending third-party price markers – value may be there, but it is not yet recognised.

Key FY2025 numbers investors should know

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	Change
Net Asset Value	£13.679 million	£11.445 million	+19.5%
NAV per share (FD)	34.5p	29.1p	+18.5%
Gross income	£2.899 million	£2.567 million	+12.9%
Pre-tax profit	£2.211 million	£2.053 million	+7.7%
Net profit	£2.173 million	£2.005 million	+8.4%
EPS (basic / FD)	5.8p / 5.4p	5.4p / 5.3p	Up
Investable Capital	£14.091 million	£11.782 million	+19.6%
NAV CAGR since 30/06/2018	26.6% compounded annually

What drove performance: gold, DGDCs and a conservative uplift

M&F’s overweight to precious metals was the standout driver. Gold rose 42.3% during the year, and the company’s deferred gold delivery contracts (DGDCs) gained 59.4% since initiation. In simple terms, DGDCs are contracts that lock in the future delivery of gold – a way to gain exposure to bullion with defined terms.

The company also revalued Toburn, which holds a 2% net smelter royalty (NSR) over the Bellavista mine’s Block 21-A. An NSR is a slice of revenue after certain processing costs. M&F valued its share using a 10% discount rate, assuming 500 tpd throughput, 6 g/t grade and 92% recovery at spot gold – conservative assumptions that exclude any upside from higher resources or throughput. Post year end, this NSR began generating income, and several royalty companies have expressed interest.

Offsetting this, the weaker US dollar weighed on reported results. With roughly 80% of the portfolio USD-denominated, FX shaved an estimated £1.1 million off NAV compared with holding last year’s rates constant.

Portfolio mix and liquidity: precious metals heavy, but “near-cash” helps

Investable Capital totalled £14.091 million, split between strategic and tactical holdings. Here’s the commodity mix at year end:

Allocation	FY2025 (£000)	FY2025 (%)
Precious Metals & Minerals	£7,901.7	56.1%
Base Metals	£4,257.1	30.2%
Food, Energy, Services & Tech	£1,099.3	7.8%
Royalties (NSR)	£624.1	4.4%
Cash	£209.1	1.5%

Cash is low at 1.5%, below M&F’s 10% guideline. However, management considers liquidity to be stronger than it looks because deferred gold contracts (19.4% of Investable Capital), physical silver (5.5%) and rhodium (1.5%) provide “near-cash” optionality. The Tactical Portfolio rose 30.6% to £5.380 million and the Strategic Portfolio grew 13.0% to £8.502 million.

Strategic assets in focus: Redcorp and the Lagoa Salgada VMS project

Redcorp, M&F’s largest investment at almost 32% of Investable Capital, owns 100% of the Lagoa Salgada polymetallic VMS project in Portugal. M&F’s valuation is anchored by a contractual option to sell its base stake to Cerrado Gold at the project NPV using a 10.5% discount rate. There are moving parts with EDM’s 15% working interest option (extended pending environmental and optimisation milestones), but M&F retains a clear route to monetise its interest – either as a 20% carried interest if EDM does not exercise, or a net 5% carried interest with a put right to Cerrado if it does. Cerrado currently recognises a US$6.2 million obligation related to this.

Elsewhere, several private strategic holdings (Golden Sun Resources, Ideon, Redcorp, Terrasun, Gemdale) were not revalued in FY2025 due to the absence of third-party pricing events. Management believes a number of “liquidity events” are possible within 6–12 months, with Golden Sun exploring strategic transactions.

Macro backdrop and outlook: dollar drift, metals strength, and positioning shifts

The FTSE 350 Mining Index surged 70.8% year on year from a low base, while energy-heavy commodity indices lagged. M&F expects the US dollar to underperform into 2025–26 given persistent deficits and stickier rates than elsewhere, which tends to be supportive for commodities, especially precious metals.

Management has begun taking some profits in gold from October 2025 and is tilting incrementally towards silver and copper, expecting those to outperform gold over the next 12–18 months. It is a pragmatic move: crystallise some gains where the market agrees with you, add to areas with relative upside. The caution is sensible too – public equities have re-rated, and bond markets are less convinced on the path of rate cuts.

Why this matters for retail investors

• Compounding record: NAV has compounded at 26.6% since 2018. That’s the kind of compounding that moves the dial over time.
• Clear thesis: Precious-metals overweight and copper exposure align with a weaker dollar view and multi-year metals demand themes.
• Hidden value potential: Over half the portfolio is in strategic, largely un-revalued holdings. If/when external pricing events land, NAV could step up further.
• Risks to weigh: FX exposure is real; cash is low; several holdings are private and illiquid; macro cross-currents could hit both bonds and equities.

What to watch next

• Monetisation milestones across strategic holdings, notably Golden Sun and potential moves at Redcorp/Lagoa Salgada.
• Royalty income ramp from the Bellavista NSR and any third-party approaches for the asset.
• Further rebalancing towards silver and copper, and any updates on DGDCs and physical precious metal holdings.
• Annual Report posting on 23 December 2025 and AGM at 11 a.m. on 19 January 2025 in Uxbridge (per the RNS).

Josh’s view

This is a solid set of numbers from M&F, with the added reassurance of no long-term liabilities and a disciplined, value-aware approach. The FX drag was unhelpful, but that cuts both ways in the future. The big swing factor is unlocking value in the strategic book – if management can engineer clean monetisation events in the next 6–12 months, the gap between intrinsic and reported value could narrow quickly.

Overall, a constructive year with sensible positioning for the cycle ahead. Keep an eye on those catalysts.