LONDON - Chilean miner Antofagasta posted a 52% jump in annual core profit on Tuesday, as record copper prices offset slightly weaker output, and said its increased capital spending would support production in the medium term.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for 2025 leapt to a record $5.2-billion from $3.43-billion a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations as benchmark copper prices CMCU3 surged more than 40% last year.

Antofagasta's proposed final dividend for 2025 was 48 cents a share, taking its full-year dividend to 64.6 cents a share and representing a pay-out ratio of 50% of underlying earnings. It has kept its policy of returning at least 35% of net earnings to shareholders for more than a decade.

Capital expenditure rose to $3.7-billion last year, exceeding the $3.6-billion forecast as works at its Centinela concentrator peaked. Capex is seen at $3.4-billion in 2026.

Net debt rose to $2.75-billion at the end of 2025, up 69% from a year earlier.

London-listed Antofagasta's shares sank 3.1% in mid-morning trading, the top loser on London's FTSE 100 index .FTSE which was up 0.4%. The stock has gained almost 11% this year.

Peel Hunt noted that a final 2025 dividend of 48 cents a share was below analysts' consensus and the brokerage's estimate of 56.5 cents.

LONG-STANDING GOAL OF EXPANDING CENTINELA
Antofagasta, which operates four mines in Chile, has long pursued expanding Centinela to meet rising copper demand.

"I think that the progress that we've completed by the end of last year is about 70% of construction already at the Centinela second concentrator," CEO Ivan Arriagada said on an earnings call.

He later told analysts construction was set to finish in 2027, with production ramping up in 2028 and the first year at full capacity coming in 2029. The unit has an annual processing capacity of 95,000 tons.

Arriagada said Antofagasta viewed Chile's change of government positively, noting that President-elect Jose Antonio Kast plans to ease permitting and to lower corporate taxes.

The CEO was upbeat on prospects for Antofagasta's Twin Metals copper, nickel and platinum group metals (PGM) project in Minnesota, which had been delayed by a mining ban.

"With the changing landscape and policy environment in the US, we do expect that we will be able to make some progress in Twin Metals in the near term," Arriagada said.