- Hefty shareholder payouts from Antofagasta and Ferrexpo to come
- Iron ore and copper indicators suggest 2021 will also see strong earnings
While much of the world struggled last year, increased metals demand from China and shaky production in some locales saw miners book record profits and pay-out hefty dividends. Antofagasta (ANTO) and Ferrexpo (FXPO) have continued the trend started by the majors, who passed billions in free cash flow on to investors.
However, the distribution incentive for both miners differs in one key respect: both have shareholders who control more than half of the their company's issued share capital. In Antofagasta’s case it is the famous Luksic family, with 65 per cent, while Kostyantin Zhevago effectively wields control at Ferrexpo. Whether this is an ideal scenario for minority holders is open to question, but with an overall positive outlook on industrial metals, the pay-outs look set to continue this year.