Antofagasta more than doubles dividend on strong copper prices

Shares in Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc. (LON:ANTO) spiked Tuesday after it posted a 59% increase in profits to almost $2.6 billion last year thanks to strong copper prices and cost-cutting measures that helped offset a slight decline in production.

Net profit for the year ended Dec. 31 climbed to $750.6 million from $158 million a year earlier, a more than four-fold increase, which allowed the company to pay out a bumper dividend to shareholders.

Antofagasta, which has a policy of a minimum 35% return, is handing shareholders 67% of its underlying net earnings per share. This equates to a final dividend of 40.60 US cents per share, taking the total to 50.90 cents. In 2016, the miner paid a total of just 18.40 cents.

More to come…

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