Africa-Press – South-Africa. Kumba Iron Ore’s annual profits have halved amid a challenging environment marked by lower prices and challenges in logistics, costs and operations.
The Anglo American subsidiary, which mines iron ore in the Northern Cape, reported a 27% decline in revenues from R102 billion in 2021 to R74 billion for the year ended in December 2022.
Headline earnings plunged from R33.2 billion to R18 billion and profit for the year more than halved from R43.6 billion in 2021 to R19.6 billion.
Attributable free cash flow of R10.4 billion was 66% lower.
The miner declared a final 2022 dividend of R5.2 billion, bringing Kumba’s total shareholder dividends to R14.5 billion, or R45 per share, representing a total payout ratio of 80% of headline earnings for the year.
Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikalala said the company delivered a resilient financial performance in a year characterised by a volatile macro-environment.
“Despite market volatility, demand for our high-grade iron ore helped us realise an average price of $113 per wet metric tonne, 13% above benchmark prices,” she said.
“While we can’t control external factors, we believe there is much scope for optimism as we continue to focus on what is in our control, and to capitalise on our enduring competitive advantage – our high-quality product and working to decarbonise our value chain to meet the demand from a world hungry for green steel.”
Kumba’s share price fell half a percent to R544.11 in opening trading on Tuesday.
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