Antofagasta plc (ANTO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning and thank you for joining us today. I am Ivan Arriagada, Chief Executive Officer. We are pleased to report another set of strong financial results, with 27% higher EBITDA and a 72% increase in profit before tax, which are the result of higher realized prices, productivity improvements and continued cost discipline. At the same time, our major growth projects are advancing towards completion in the year 2027, positioning us well for the future as demand for copper continues to be supported by a range of long term structural trends. Before we review the results, I would like to take a moment to summarize who we are and why we believe our investment case continues to strengthen. At Antofagasta, we combine pure play copper production today with growth for tomorrow. Our projects currently under construction are expected to increase production by around 30, while adding resilience to our portfolio, and all of this is supported by our position as an established operator in Chile, the world's leading copper producing country. The fundamentals for copper remain compelling, and the metal has an increasingly important role in modern society. As economists continue to invest in energy security and deploy modern technologies, copper's role in enabling this process is becoming increasingly important, with applications throughout daily life. In addition, there's a growing demand from themes such as energy security, electrification and emerging modern technologies such as data centers and artificial intelligence. By contrast, the supply side is increasingly constrained, with long lead times for permitting and mine disruption contributing to a slower pace of growth than global demand. Against this backdrop, we believe Antofagasta is well positioned, with a strong portfol...