23rd May 2018 11:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Antofagasta PLC said Wednesday its year of "good progress" in 2017 allowed it to introduce its new operating model.
Speaking at its annual general meeting on Wednesday, Chairman Jean-Paul Luksic said the blue-chip Chilean copper miner came out of its "downturn stronger with a restructured organization" that will allow the company to "execute its strategy over the coming years".
Luksic said the company plans to expand its production at its Los Pelambres mine by 55,000 tonnes per year by " investing in new equipment which will maximize throughput within the existing mine and plant permits".
He also said the company is considering building a second concentrator at its Centinela mine. Or expanding the existing plant. The decision is expected to be made by the end of the year.
The chairman stated how "excited" he was by the company's sponsorship of the Formula E Championship in Santiago, Chile. He believes this is emblematic of the "increased interest in new technologies which use significantly more copper than established technologies".
In March, the FTSE 100-listed company had posted its 2017 results.
Antofagasta's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation increased 59% year-on-year to USD2.59 billion from USD1.63 billion, while the Ebitda margin improved to 54.5% from 44.9%.
Pretax profit soared to USD1.83 billion from USD284.6 million in 2016, while free cash flow jumped to USD1.20 billion, well above the USD343.0 million recorded in 2016.
Antofagasta's revenue increased 31% to USD4.75 billion from USD3.62 billion in 2016.
Net debt at the end of 2017 was USD456.4 million, compared to USD859.6 million at the end of June. Capital expenditure rose, as planned, to USD899.0 million from USD795.1 million.
Antofagasta has reiterated copper production guidance for 2018 of between 705,000 and 740,000 tonnes, which would compared to 704,300 tonnes in 2017.
It expects the copper market to tighten in the second half of 2018, and to be in balance or in a slight deficit for the whole year, 2019 is more likely to be in deficit.
Antofagasta also said there could be some supply disruption in Peru and Chile, given the "unusually" large number of labour negotiations taking place in the countries.
Shares in Antofagasta were down 2.0% Wednesday to 1,076.50 pence each.
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