South32 Limited delivered a robust financial performance for the half year ended 31 December 2024, reporting a 25% increase in revenue to US$3.12 billion.
Profit after tax attributable to members surged 579% to US$360 million, while underlying EBITDA rose 44% to US$1.02 billion.
During the period, South32 streamlined its portfolio with the divestment of Illawarra Metallurgical Coal, a move that reduced sustaining capital intensity, strengthened its balance sheet, as well as positioning the company for self-funded growth in the zinc and copper sectors.
South32 Chief Executive Officer Graham Kerr noted, "The sale of Illawarra Metallurgical Coal has unlocked significant value and streamlined our portfolio to be focused on minerals and metals critical to the world's energy transition. The sale has also simplified our business, lowered our sustaining capital intensity and strengthened our balance sheet, enabling us to self-fund our growth in zinc and copper.
“We invested to grow our future production during the period, as we continued construction of our large-scale, long-life Taylor zinc-lead-silver project at Hermosa in Arizona, United States, and expanded our pipeline of copper exploration options in highly prospective regions.”
Production gains were also notable, with aluminium output rising 5% and copper production increasing 16%, benefiting from stronger commodity prices.
Additionalluy, the company continued its Safety Improvement Program, including the LEAD Safely Every Day initiative, which contributed to a 31% improvement in total recordable injury frequency.
Chief Executive Officer Graham Kerr remarked, “We delivered a strong start to FY25, off the back of our improved operating performance and transformed portfolio. We are focused on continuing our strong operating performance into the second half, unlocking value from our growth pipeline and continuing to reward shareholders as our financial performance improves.”
The company's FY25 production guidance remained largely unchanged, with the exception of Mozal Aluminium, where the forecast has been revised to 350kt from the previous 360kt, pending any further disruptions due to civil unrest in Mozambique.
South32’s Board also declared an interim dividend of US$3.4 cents per share, amounting to US$154 million. The fully franked dividend represents 41% of underlying earnings, reaffirming the company’s commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
At the time of writing, South32 (ASX: S32) stock was trading at $3.43, little changed from Tuesday's close. The stock reached a day low of $3.38 and a day high of $3.44. South32's market cap stands at $15.45 billion.
