MMG Limited (MMG) today released its full year financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023.
In a tragic start to 2023, two people, employed through our mining contractor Barminco at our Dugald River mine, lost their lives after a light vehicle they were travelling in fell into a stope on 15 February 2023.
MMG Interim CEO Liangang Li reflected that “the loss of Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis has had a profound impact on us all and our united focus remains on doing everything we can to promote a safe workplace and culture and to ensure every person returns safely home to their loved ones.”
MMG’s total recordable injury frequency (TRIF) was 1.97 for the full year 2023, which is higher than the full year 2022 result of 1.25. We recognise there is still room for improvement – particularly in reducing significant potential incidents – and during the fourth quarter we saw a reduction in injury rates.
Operational performance
MMG produced 347,264 tonnes of copper (copper cathode plus copper in concentrate) and 203,470 tonnes of zinc (zinc in concentrate).
Copper production in 2023 was 14% higher than in 2022 driven by uninterrupted operations at Las Bambas. This result further demonstrates the site’s strong operational performance throughout the year which included achieving a record in milled ore throughput and the second highest annual sales volume, with over 1.1 million tonnes of concentrate sold.
Copper production at the Kinsevere mine was 10% lower than in 2022 largely due to unstable power supply from the national grid. Construction of the Kinsevere Expansion Project continues to advance with the cobalt plant commissioned in the fourth quarter.
Zinc production at Dugald River mine was 12% lower than in 2022, due to the impact of suspension of operations in the first quarter.
Annual production at Rosebery mine was 1% above 2022 levels, largely driven by the mining sequence with the ore mined and milled volume in the fourth quarter the highest for the year.
Commenting on MMG’s performance Mr Li said that despite a challenging start to the year all sites delivered strong results to close out 2023 with production and cost performance in line with, or outperforming, updated guidance.
Financial performance
In 2023, revenue increased by 34% to US$4.3 billion, largely driven by higher sales volumes from Las Bambas and offsetting the impact of lower copper and zinc prices.
MMG recorded a net profit after tax of US$122.1 million, including a profit of US$9.0 million attributable to equity holders of the Company. This compared to a net profit after tax of US$243.5 million in 2022, including a profit of US$172.4 million attributable to equity holders.
Driven by strong cashflows, MMG reduced net debt levels by US$788.2 million, lowering overall gearing ratio by five percent to 50% at the end of 2023.
Executive Committee Changes
In January 2024, the Company announced that Mr Ross Carroll will retire from his role as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of MMG and will depart the company on 1 July 2024, following a transition period. Mr Carroll was appointed as CFO of the Company in December 2015. Mr Li, commented:
“On behalf of the entire MMG team I extend my sincere gratitude to Mr Carroll for his valuable contribution to MMG over many years and wish him well in future endeavours.”
Mr Song Qian joined MMG on 1 February 2024 as the Executive General Manager Finance and brings to the business significant executive experience within CMC.
“Mr Qian brings to MMG valuable experience in global treasury systems and a strong understanding of commercial and investment banking, financial markets, and cross-cultural integration in mining assets and multi-industrial assets within China and internationally. “
“In early 2024, we also undertook a review of executive portfolios and realigned a number of accountabilities. To that end, we created a new role of Executive General Manager Operations to integrate group operational accountability and excellence. Mr Nan Wang has commenced in this critical role on 1 February 2024.”
Future focus
In 2023 MMG achieved a major milestone having entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire the Khoemacau Mine.
The Khoemacau Mine is a large, long-life copper mine located in northwest Botswana, in the emerging Kalahari Copperbelt. The tenement package hosts the tenth largest African copper mineral resource by total contained copper metal and is one of the largest copper sedimentary systems in the world outside of the Central African Copperbelt.
Looking to 2024, Mr Li said that the Company will continue to maintain its focus on operational excellence while also looking to drive a growth across the portfolio.
“Throughout 2023, we have achieved steady progress on the Kinsevere Expansion Project and advanced discussions with the Huancuire community at Las Bambas, enabling early works to start at Chalcobamba.”
“We look forward to continuing this momentum in 2024, and we remain committed to growing our assets and increasing our exposure to minerals that are critical to the global decarbonisation efforts,” Mr Li added.
Please download a full copy of the MMG 2023 Annual Results here.
Media Enquiries
Andrea Atell
0439 689 991
andrea.atell@mmg.com