Glencore shares on the slide as mining giant ditches dividend

Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg

Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

6 August 2020

Glencore has become the latest FTSE 100 giant to scrap its dividend in another hammer blow for investors.

The miner was expected to handout $2.6 billion (£1.9 billion) in dividends this year but said the economic outlook was too uncertain as the coronavirus crisis continues to de-stabilise businesses and markets around the globe.

Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said: “The outlook remains uncertain in the short term.

“The Board has concluded that it would be inappropriate to make a distribution to shareholders in 2020, instead prioritising the acceleration of net debt reduction to within our target range $16 billion, currently expected to occur by the end of 2020.”

Rivals Rio Tinto and Anglo American have already gone ahead with their payouts.

The decision to reduce debt comes as the company booked a $3.2 billion impairment charge.

As a result the miner posted a net loss of $2.6 billion for the first half this year against a profit of $226 million tweleve months ago.

The only bright spot was the company’s trading arm which posted $2 billion in earnings over the period, benefiting from the volatility in the oil and commodity markets.

Oil trading firms such as Gunvor and Mercuria have posted strong results this year, while Shell’s trading has also performed strongly.

Glencore shares were down 5% in morning trading.

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