Gelonghui, March 18, 丨 Wanguo International Mining (03939.HK) announced that for the year ended December 31, 2023, revenue increased by 93.0% to approximately RMB 1,315 billion. Profit attributable to company owners increased by 85.8% to approximately RMB 335 million. Basic earnings per share were RMB 40.5 cents (2022: RMB 21.8 cents). The Board recommended a final dividend of RMB 18.5 per share (equivalent to approximately HK20.4 cents) (2022: RMB 10.00 per share).
In 2023, major Western economies such as Europe and the US experienced continued high inflation problems, while interest rates on the US dollar rose for a long time. At the same time, China is driving a significant increase in global refined copper production. Despite being boosted by the rapid growth of the new energy industry, traditional manufacturing is still dragging down the growth of copper consumption, leading to an oversupply of refined copper worldwide. As a result, copper prices showed an overall fluctuating downward trend after reaching a peak in January. The London Metal Exchange (LME) copper price reached a high of $9,550 in mid-January, fell to a low of $7,856 at the end of October, and recovered above $8,500 at the end of the year. At the same time, affected by the sharp depreciation of the Chinese yuan in the second half of the year, copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) showed a high level of fluctuation. The highest price reached RMB 71,500 in mid-January, and the lowest price at the end of May was RMB 62,690, mostly fluctuating between RMB 66,000 and RMB 70,000 throughout the year.
On July 13, 2017, the Group completed the acquisition of 51% of the shares of Tibet Qamdu County Qandi Mining Co., Ltd. (“Tibet Qamdo”). Tibet's Qamdo owns the Waliaoge Lead Mine (“Waliaoge Mine”) in Qamdo County, China, which can be used by the company for further open pit and underground mining. The wow mine has a large amount of lead and silver mineral resources.
The Group completed the acquisition of 77.78% interest in Xiangfu Jinling Co., Ltd. on April 30, 2020, and it holds 90% interest in a Jinling mine (“Jinling Mine”) located in Solomon Islands, which allows the company to further open pit and underground mining. The Group began trial production in November 2022. The products of Jinling Mine include gold ingots and gold concentrates.