Glencore returns to profit, says standalone business case 'strong'

Swiss resources giant Glencore said Wednesday that it returned to profit last year and insisted its "standalone investment case is strong", two weeks after dropping a merger plan with British-Australian miner Rio Tinto.

Full-year profit reached $363 million after a loss of $1.6 billion posted in 2024, in what CEO Gary Nagle called "a year of significant progress".

He did not directly mention the failed Rio deal, but said Glencore would focus on "successfully progressing our organic production growth options".

When announcing the end of merger talks this month, Glencore said the terms offered by Rio "significantly undervalued Glencore's underlying relative value," including not adequately valuing its copper business.

Nagle said Wednesday that Glencore would focus on stepping up copper production, whose price has soared in line with AI-fuelled tech-sector demand.

Nagle said annual copper production should reach one million tonnes by the end of 2028, before rising to around 1.6 million tonnes by 2035.

On top of a 2025 dividend payout of $0.10 per share, Glencore will also recommend an exceptional payout of $0.07.

AFP