Capital (LSE:CAPD), the contractor to the mining sector, has reported third-quarter revenue of $115.7 million for the three months to 30 September, up 23.2% on the same quarter last year, taking revenue for the first nine months of 2026 to $334.7 million, a 32.2% increase on the prior year-to-date figure.
The London-listed mining services group, which provides drilling, exploration and laboratory services to the global minerals industry with a strong African footprint, said quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on the second quarter's $117.3 million.
Drilling and associated revenue fell to $64.5 million, down 5.1% on the second quarter, as the company redeployed equipment away from Nevada Gold Mines and Sadiola toward higher-returning contracts and new wins.
Mining revenue held broadly steady at $25.2 million, more than treble the $7.8 million recorded a year earlier, while MSALABS laboratory revenue rose 23.8% year-on-year to $26.0 million, a record quarter for the division.
"Our drilling platform is gaining momentum as we further expand our activities at Belinga alongside Fortescue and established a strategic foothold in the Australian drilling market through our acquisition of MDU," said Jamie Boyton, Executive Chair.
Capital completed its acquisition of Metres Down Under, a specialist underground drilling contractor based in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia, during the period, marking its entry into the Australian market and extending its relationship with AngloGold Ashanti, whose Sunrise Dam and Tropicana operations MDU already services.
MDU generated approximately $25 million of revenue and $6 million of adjusted EBITDA in the twelve months to September, and Capital said the deal is expected to be accretive from day one.
The company reiterated 2026 group revenue guidance of $435 million to $455 million, raised earlier this month from $430 million to $450 million to reflect consolidation of MDU's revenue from 30 September; the figure had started the year at $410 million to $440 million.
MSALABS revenue guidance was reiterated at $85 million to $95 million and capital expenditure guidance at $55 million to $65 million.
At Capital Drilling, fleet utilisation held flat at 72% quarter-on-quarter, while the closing fleet stood at 131 rigs, down slightly from 134 a year earlier; the company secured a two-year extension and expanded scope at Fortescue's Belinga Iron Ore Project, adding five rigs to bring the total on site to 10.
Mining operations at Reko Diq and Sukari continued in line with contract terms, with additional equipment commissioned at Sukari and more en route to Reko Diq for arrival in the fourth quarter.
MSALABS laboratory utilisation edged up to 56% from 55% in the prior quarter, with a new on-site laboratory at Montage Gold's Koné project in Côte d'Ivoire beginning to receive samples and further commissioning under way in Korhogo and at United Gold's Amulsar mine in Armenia.
Capital's investment portfolio, concentrated in WIA Gold, Asara Resources and Apollo Minerals, rose to $126.7 million at 30 September from $116.5 million three months earlier, helped by $4.3 million of investment gains and $5.9 million of net purchases.
The company also appointed Tim Donnelly, formerly General Manager of Artemis Gold's Blackwater Mine, as Chief Operating Officer for Drilling and Mining, with prior senior roles at Centamin, Endeavour Mining and Macmahon Holdings.
