LONDON - Glencore will return $2.8 billion to shareholders in 2021 after soaring commodity prices helped the mining and trading company to a record performance during the first six months of the year, it said on Thursday.
The London-listed company's adjusted earnings for first half before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 79% to a record $8.7 billion compared with $4.8 billion a year earlier, beating the $8.4 billion expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv
Rio Tinto joins rivals Anglo American and Glencore in declaring bonanza shareholder payouts after record half-year profits driven by higher commodity prices.
Glencore announced a 2021 dividend of $2.8 billion, including a special dividend of $0.04 cents per share, or $500 million to be paid in September and will buy back $650 million in shares.
Continuing COVID - 19's severe global impacts in early 2020, the subsequent economic recovery has seen prices of most commodities raise to multi-year highs amid accelerating demand and lingering supply constraints, said Glencore CEO Gary Nagle in July.