Metals Exploration

MTL.L

Gold · Basic Materials

Price

15.40 GBp

+0.56 (+3.77%)

Market Cap

£459.9M

Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Dec 31, 2025

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Strong

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Good

Valuation

Mixed

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Share count rising — dilution

+43.3% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 2.07B (2021) → 2.97B (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Metals Exploration plc is a small British mining company that digs gold out of the ground in the Philippines. Its main asset is the Runruno Gold Mine in Luzon, which produces gold doré — a semi-pure mix of gold and silver — that is then refined and sold to bullion buyers and commodity traders. The company is focused entirely on this single mine, making it a pure-play gold producer in Southeast Asia.

The company makes money by selling the gold it produces, so its revenue rises and falls with the gold price and how much ore the mine can process. It operates only in the Philippines, and with a market cap of around $0.4 billion, it is a small-cap miner with limited geographic diversification. Its biggest risk is concentration — one mine, one country, and one commodity means any operational problem, regulatory change, or drop in gold prices could have an outsized impact on the business.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-10.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+122.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong earnings growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

54.5%ownership

↑ Rising

Insiders increasing their stake — aligned with shareholders

Cash Runway

~14 months

$57M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Adequate runway but may need to raise capital within 2 years

Revenue declining

Metals Exploration's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

41.8%

Healthy — 41.8% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

36.3%

Excellent — 36.3% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

18.3%

Strong — 18.3% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+12.8%

Fast-growing sales (+12.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+188.6%

Earnings growing fast (+188.6% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

5/8 quarters

Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

370%

Turns 370% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

14.0%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (14.0%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

N/A

Data not available

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

52.96x

Comfortably covers interest (53.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

15.2x

Fair value — P/E 15.2

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

-3.2

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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