The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price is sliding in morning trade, down 4% to $39.29 per share.
Below we take a look at the highlights from today's Annual General Meeting (AGM), where chairman Peter Wade, and managing director Chris Ellison, will address the year gone by and update shareholders on major projects.
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Takeaways from today's AGM
The Mineral Resources share price is sliding this morning despite management reviewing the strong performance in the 2021 financial year (FY21).
Highlights included a 76% year-on-year boost in revenue, to $3.7 billion. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.9 billion was up 148% on FY20.
Dividends per share leapt 175% to $2.75 per share. And Mineral Resources finished the year with a strong balance sheet, holding $1.5 billion in cash.
During the financial year, the company also acquired additional gas acreage for its energy segment and acquired and developed the Wonmunna mine. Mineral Resources saw its iron ore exports increase 23% in FY21 compared to the prior year, with spodumene exports also up 23%.
Employee numbers increased by 60% during FY21.
Under the sustainability initiatives amid its net zero by 2050 goal, Mineral Resources noted in FY21 it had:
- Reduced greenhouse gas intensity 5%
- Increased water recovery via dry stack tailings
- Increased land under rehabilitation 36%
Looking ahead over the next 2–5 years, the company intends to develop three mining hubs.
It said Ashburton will be a 2-year development delivering 30Mtpa of iron ore on completion. South West Creek, which is also forecast to produce 30Mtpa, will take 2 years for approvals and 3 years to develop.
Mineral Resources noted that Yilgarn, the third mining hub, is transitioning from hematite to magnetite. That's expected to take 4 years, with a 5–6 year mine life remaining for the existing hematite operation.
The Mineral Resources share price could be under pressure with this project, as management reduced production guidance at Yilgarn for FY22 to 8.0–8.5mt.
While management notes some headwinds, including that benchmark iron ore prices are significantly down and operating costs are under pressure, they add, "Our diversification means we're well placed to weather this storm," with lithium rebounding.
Mineral Resources share price snapshot
The Mineral Resources share price is up a slender 1% in 2021, compared to a 10% year-to-date gain posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Over the past month, shares in the ASX 200 resource producer are down 10%.
