Soaring demand for copper will help drive mergers, BHP CEO says
Demand for copper, a key element in the energy transition, is set to rise by 70% to 100% by 2050, Mike Henry said
Mining and smelting group Boliden reported quarterly earnings ahead of market forecasts on Friday, helped by rising metal prices and higher milled volumes and grades at its mines.
The Swedish company, which operates mines and smelters in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Ireland, and is one of Europe’s biggest zinc producers, also said profits were boosted by stronger volumes at its smelters.
“At our mines, development in Kevitsa is particularly positive, while production at the smelters has been characterized by a high level of stability,” Boliden Chief Executive Mikael Staffas said in a statement.
Boliden’s fourth-quarter operating profit rose to 3.08 billion Swedish crowns ($370 million) from 1.74 billion a year earlier, beating the 2.63 billion mean forecast in a Refinitiv poll of analyst estimates.
Boliden proposed a total shareholder payout of 14.25 crowns for 2020, comprised of a 8.25 crown ordinary dividend, and a special dividend of 6 crowns through automatic share redemption.
That compared with a total dividend of 7 crowns in the previous year.
($1 = 8.3313 Swedish crowns)
(By Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Simon Johnson)
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