Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO) reported record earnings for 2021 as higher copper and molybdenum prices outweighed a dip in production.
The FTSE-100 miner posted a 77% jump in underlying earnings (EBITDA) to a record US$4.84bn (£3.5bn) even amid higher operating costs. Revenue grew 46% to US$7.47bn.
It plans to pay a final dividend of 118.9 cents per share, lifting its total dividend for the year to 142.5 cents, up 161% on 2020.
Antofagasta released its production figures last month. Copper production in 2021 dipped 1.7% from 2020 and output of by-product molybdenum dropped 16.7%, while gold production jumped almost 24%.
"Our mines and plants performed as planned and we can be proud of our achievements, regardless of the challenges of the year including COVID-19 and continued drought conditions in central Chile,” said chief executive Iván Arriagada.
"Climate change remains a key focus for Antofagasta, and we have expanded our capital allocation framework to include climate risk factors and have set environmental commitments to significantly reduce our continental water consumption and emissions by 2025.”
On the outlook for the copper market, it said it expects demand for the metal to grow more slowly in 2022 than in 2021, although it will still be at a high rate of about 2.5-3.0%, requiring an additional 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes of refined copper per year.