The Antofagasta plc Board has recommended a final dividend of 23.5 cents per share, equivalent to $231.7 million and, if approved, would represent a total pay-out of 50% of underlying earnings per share, in line with the Company's dividend policy making the total dividend for the year 31.4 cents per share, equivalent to $309.6 million.
Other financial highlights include:
●Continued strong safety performance, with no fatalities and the lost time injury frequency rate continuing at a level below 1.0.
●Revenue increased by 5% to $6.6 billion, reflecting the higher copper price, partly offset by lower sales volumes due to the rescheduling of vessels between periods following adverse weather conditions (sea swells) during December 2024 in the north of Chile.
●EBITDA1 was $3.4 billion, 11% higher on stronger revenues and robust cost control, which helped to increase the Group's EBITDA margin[2] to 52%.
●Cash flow from operations increased by 8% to $3.3 billion, with the same drivers as described above.
●Full year capital expenditure was $2.4 billion in 2024, with major capital projects in line with plan and reflecting the impact from the depreciation of the Chilean peso during the year.
●The Competitiveness Programme generated savings and productivity improvements of $248 million in 2024 (2023: $135 million), exceeding the Group's original target of $200 million for the year.
●The balance sheet remains strong, with a cash, cash equivalents and liquid investment balance of $4.3bn, and the net debt to EBITDA ratio continues to be robust at 0.48x (31 December 2023: 0.38x).
