Antofagasta: Copper miner’s profit jumps amid booming demand
Mining giant Antofagasta has reported a five per cent increase in revenue for 2024, driven by higher copper prices, although growth was partially offset by lower sales volumes.
The group posted revenue of $6.6bn (£5.2bn) while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 11 per cent to $3.4bn.
Profit before tax climbed five per cent to $2.1bn, while cash flow from operations increased by eight per cent to $3.3bn.
However, net debt to EBITDA rose to 0.48 times from 0.38 times, while underlying earnings per share dropped 13 per cent to $0.63 cents.
The company declared a final dividend of $0.24 per share, bringing the full-year payout to 50 per cent of underlying earnings.
Capital expenditures for 2024 totalled $2.4bn, which the company said aligned with plans but was impacted by the depreciation of the Chilean peso.
The firm’s Competitiveness Programme delivered $248m in savings, exceeding its original $200m target.
Antofagasta’s copper outlook
Looking ahead, production for 2025 is expected to be between 660,000 and 700,000 tonnes, with capital expenditure forecasted at $3.9bn.
CEO Iván Arriagada said: “We have delivered another year of strong revenue growth and cash flow generation, and our EBITDA margin widened to 52 per cent, maintaining our position at the top-end of our peer group of pure-play copper producers.”
“Copper’s unique role in energy security and electrification means that the world needs more of it, and our projects are on track to deliver industry-leading levels of responsible copper supply growth.”
“Our strong balance sheet enables us to invest in profitable growth for the medium and long term.”
“Our disciplined approach to capital allocation allows us to balance investments and shareholder returns, with the final dividend that we have proposed today taking total distributions in respect of 2024 to 50 per cent of underlying earnings, reflecting our confidence in the future of our business.”
“We are encouraged by the outlook for copper as demand remains strong and global constraints, such as grade decline, ore hardness and capex inflation, are steadily limiting existing supply expansions.”