2346 GMT - A US$1.1 billion cost overrun and one-year delay at South32's Hermosa project lead bull Macquarie to slash its target price on the stock by 22%, to A$4.50/share. Adjustments for capital expenditure, a new mine schedule and higher operating costs drive a A$5.1 billion--or 55%--reduction in the net present value Macquarie attributes to the project. "With the increase in capex effectively taking us back to the project's sanction case for 5% less production and 9% higher real costs, productivity-driven cost creep has been the key disappointment," says Macquarie. "The delay also erodes value, pushing first zinc to 2028." Macquarie keeps an outperform rating on the stock, which fell by 5.4% Thursday to A$4.03. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2026 19:46 ET (23:46 GMT)

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