Kenmare Resources plc is an established mining company, which operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine, located on the north east coast of Mozambique. The Mine has been in commercial production since 2009 and is recognised as a major supplier of mineral sand products to a global customer base operating in over 15 countries. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation of £440 million.
2022 Full Year Results were published on 22 March and we were delighted to have Ben Baxter, Chief Operating Officer and Jeremy Dibb, Director of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, report on the strong year delivered. A recording of the webinar is available here.
In 2022 Kenmare delivered record product revenues, profits and dividends. It did this by delivering on its three strategic priorities of: operate responsibility; deliver long life, low cost production; allocate capital efficiently. Almost 12 million hours were worked in 2022 with no lost time injuries and the LTI frequency rate was down at 0.09. The company also delivered a 6% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions. The target to be 1st quartile on the cost curve was independently confirmed for the first time and the cost of ilmenite production has now fallen to $60/tonne. With a 100 year mine life Kenmare will be generating strong cash flows for decades. Strong cash flows were used to pay a dividend which was up 66% and the dividend pay out ratio was maintained at 25%. Net cash is now at $28m.
During 2022 the Rotary Uninterruptable Power project was commissioned to help the smooth flow of electricity to the Mineral Separation Plant. It has improved recoveries, reduced costs and reduced CO2 emissions so this project has gone well. Also a pre feasibility study has been conducted into the move of WCPA from its current ore zone in Namalope to its new site in Nakata. Further details on the plans and cost of this move will be explained at the CMD on 26 April.
Record results were driven by strong prices across all product categories with Rutile rising 42% and Ilmenite rose almost 30%. The overall mix of sales changed slightly with ilmenite as a percentage of overall sales falling to 68%, Zircon rising to 20% and Rutile rising to 4%. This is seen as a more normal product split. Shipments were down due to one of…
