Chilean-based copper miner Antofagasta wowed the markets with a hefty special final dividend of 48¢, despite the savage downturn in the mining sector. Management says it is only fair to serve shareholders up a slice of the $1bn extra profit it gained in August after Japanese firm Marubeni bought a 30 per cent chunk of key properties. The payout also recognises the continued strength of the company's balance sheet and the healthy margins its generating even at current depressed copper prices.
All the same, the metals price collapse meant underlying earnings per share, excluding the disposal gain, were down 39 per cent to 85.5¢. For anticipated 2009 production of around 433,000 tonnes of copper - down from 477,700 tonnes in 2008 - Antofagasta now expects an average cash cost per pound of copper of 94¢, including by-product credits, against a current spot copper price of around 165¢ per pound.
Broker Evolution expects full year EPS of 10.3¢, from 85.5¢ in 2008.
| ANTOFAGASTA (ANTO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 534p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 5,26bn | |
| TOUCH: | 533-534p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 835p | LOW: 244p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.2% | PE RATIO: | 4 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 534¢ | NET CASH: | $2.9bn | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($bn) | Pre-tax profit ($bn) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1.94 | 1.20 | 58.8 | 7.80 |
| 2005 | 2.45 | 1.54 | 73.6 | 8.00 |
| 2006 | 3.87 | 2.86 | 137 | 8.20 |
| 2007 | 3.83 | 2.75 | 140 | 8.60 |
| 2008 | 3.37 | 2.61 | 173 | 9.00 |
| % change | -12 | -5 | +23 | +5 |
Ex-div:06 May Payment:11 Jun *Excludes special dividends £1=$1.38 | ||||
