Antofagasta Profits Surged Significantly in H1 2023

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Chile-based copper mining group Antofagasta plc. recorded notable surge in profits during the initial six-month period of the current year, despite lower copper prices.

The revenue totalled $2,890 million during H1 2023, higher by 14.3% from the previous year. The EBITDA surged higher by 7.5% year-on-year to $1,331 million, driven by higher revenue. The EBITDA margin declined from 49% in H1 2022 to 46.1% in the first half of 2023.

The cash flow from operations stood at $1,296 million, down from$1,683 million in the first half of 2022. The capital expenditure amounted to $1,022 million, accounting for 54% of the 2023 guidance. The earnings per share of 33.5 cents was 7.1 cents higher than the corresponding period in 2022.

The copper production totalled 295,500 tonnes, higher by nearly 10% year-on-year. The H1 2022 copper production had totalled 268,600 tonnes.

Ivan Arriagada, CEO, Antofagasta plc noted that H1 delivered another strong safety performance across the company’s operations. The higher revenue was primarily due to higher copper, gold and molybdenum sales volume and higher realised by-products prices, partially offset by weaker copper prices.

The miner revised downwards its full year 2023 copper production guidance to 640,000-670,000 tonnes.