Business
HALF YEARLY FINANCIAL REPORT
HALF YEARLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
About this update from Antofagasta Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n \nNEWS RELEASE, 10 AUGUST 2023\n \nHALF YEARLY FINANCIAL REPORT\nFOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2023\nEARNINGS PER SHARE INCREASE BY 27%\n \nAntofagasta plc CEO Iván Arriagada said: \"The first half of the year delivered another strong safety performance across all our operations. We continue to operate fatality free, and both leading and lagging indicators of safety are at a level ahead of last year.\n\"Our financial metrics over the period were also strong; revenue was 14.3% higher due to higher copper, gold and molybdenum sales volumes and higher realised by-product prices, partially offset by a 3.4% decline in copper prices.\n\"We are focused on cost control through our Cost and Competitiveness Programme, which so far this year has delivered $60 million in savings and productivity improvements (equivalent of 9c/lb), achieving our goal of $60 million of savings for the full year. EBITDA was 7.5% higher and profit before tax was 12.5% higher than last year. Earnings per share came in at 33.5 cents, which is an increase of 26.9% compared to last year.\n\"Looking ahead to the second half of the year, we expect the desalination plant will continue to ramp-up to its design capacity, which will allow increased throughput at Los Pelambres, supporting the delivery of our production and cost guidance.\n\"Copper is the metal of electrification and therefore an integral part of the energy transition. We believe the long-term fundamentals for copper are very strong as demand is forecast to continue to grow over the coming years, and as incremental supply remains challenged. Our focus remains on growing production through our pipeline of projects safely and competitively, which will generate value for all our stakeholders.\n\"Consistent with our practice of paying 35% of interim net earnings as a dividend, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 11.7 cents per share.\"\nHIGHLIGHTS\nFinancial performance\n● Revenue for the first half of 2023 was $2,890 million, 14.3% higher than in the same period in 2022, mainly because of higher copper and by-product sales volumes and higher realised by-product prices.\n● EBITDA(1) was $1,331 million, 7.5% higher than in the same period last year on higher revenue, partially offset ...