Column: After three years of exports China is now short of lead
The global lead market has bifurcated since the start of June, with Shanghai prices significantly outperforming that of the LME.
Swedish mining and smelting firm Boliden reported fourth-quarter core earnings ahead of market forecasts on Wednesday, but proposed a total shareholder payout below analyst expectations.
Operating profit, excluding revaluation of process inventory, fell to 2.00 billion Swedish crowns ($216 million) from 2.91 billion a year earlier, beating the 1.89 billion seen by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The company proposed a total shareholder payout of 13 crowns per share, composed of an ordinary dividend of 8.75 crowns and an extra payment of 4.25 crowns through an automatic share redemption.
That compares with the mean analyst forecast for a total payout of 15.77 crowns per share, with expectations for an ordinary dividend of 8.31 crowns and an extra dividend of 7.46 crowns.
($1 = 9.2501 Swedish crowns)
(By Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Helena Soderpalm)
