Antofagasta full year EBITDA shine on higher prices

Higher metals prices and lower cash costs helped push full year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at Antofagasta up 78.7% to $1.6bn.

Group revenue in 2016 was $3.62bn, up 12.3% higher than in 2015. The final dividend for the year is 15.3 cents a, bringing the total dividend for the year to 18.4 cents.

Group copper production in 2017 is expected to be in the range of 685,000 - 720,000 tonnes, similar to the 709,400 tonnes produced in 2016.

"This year has started strongly following the upturn in the last quarter of 2016, bolstered by the continued improvement in sentiment towards copper and the production problems at some of the world's largest copper mines," the company said.

"It seems that there is now a reflationary environment and this is positive for commodities. As many continue to adjust their forecasts for China, the group is confident that consumption there will continue to grow as they support their power and infrastructure requirements."

"The higher level of mine disruptions experienced since the beginning of the year should keep pressure on refined copper availability and support the fundamentals for copper in the months to come. As a result, the Group does not foresee copper returning to the lows of 2016."

"In the medium term the group expects to see a steady shift from a market in balance to a slight deficit, leading to a further improvement in prices. There are wild cards of course, but these are more likely to be positive for the copper price than negative. Potential higher demand in the US under the new administration is one, increased disruptions to supply is another."