Teck: Reports Unaudited Fourth Quarter Results For 2024

Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (Teck) today announced its unaudited fourth quarter results for 2024.
"2024 was a transformational year as we repositioned Teck as a pure-play energy transition metals company with the sale of the steelmaking coal business and record annual copper production," said Jonathan Price, President and CEO. "Our copper production in the fourth quarter set a new quarterly production record with a strong performance at QB, and we continued to return cash to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends that totalled $1.8 billion in 2024. Our strong financial position, ongoing returns to shareholders and value accretive copper growth strategy position us for long-term value creation."
Highlights
·       Adjusted EBITDA1 of $835 million in Q4 2024 was driven by record copper production as Quebrada Blanca (QB) continued to ramp up, achieving design throughput rates by the end of the year, as well as strong base metals pricing. Copper and zinc sales volumes each increased by 24% compared to the same period last year. Our profit from continuing operations before taxes was $256 million in Q4 2024.
·       Adjusted profit from continuing operations attributable to shareholders1 was $232 million, or $0.45 per share, in Q4 2024. Our profit from continuing operations attributable to shareholders was $385 million.
·       We returned $1.8 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends in 2024, of which $549 million was completed in the fourth quarter. As of February 19, 2025, we have completed $1.45 billion of our authorized buyback program of $3.25 billion.
·       We reduced our debt by US$196 million in Q4 2024, including a scheduled semi-annual repayment on the QB project financing facility. In 2024, we reduced our debt by US$1.8 billion.
·       Our liquidity as of February 19, 2025, is $11.3 billion, including $7.1 billion of cash. We generated cash flows from operations of $1.3 billion in Q4 and we had a net cash1 position of $2.1 bbillion onDecember 31, 2024.
·       We achieved our third consecutive quarter of record copper production with 122,100 tonnes produced in Q4 2024, of which 60,700 tonnes were from QB. With the ramp-up of QB, we achieved a record annual copper production of 446,000 tonnes in 2024, up 50% from last year.
·       Our copper business generated gross profit before depreciation and amortization1 of $732 million in the fourth quarter, up 160% from a year ago, with strong sales volumes of 124,900 tonnes and higher copper prices. Gross profit from our copper business was $299 million in the fourth quarter.
·       Our zinc business generated gross profit before depreciation and amortization1 of $320 million in the fourth quarter, up 112% from a year ago, supported by strong zinc prices and sales volumes from Red Dog. Gross profit from our zinc business was $243 million in the fourth quarter.
·       Two of three of QB's labour unions, representing 78% of QB's workforce, and Antamina's labour union each ratified new three-year collective bargaining agreements during Q4 2024.
·       Our High-Potential Incident (HPI) Frequency rate continued to remain low at 0.12 in 2024.
Key Updates
Executing Our Copper Growth Strategy
·       We achieved record copper production of 446,000 tonnes in 2024, up 50% from 2023, supported by the ramp-up of QB. We expect our annual 2025 copper production to further increase to between 490,000 and 565,000 tonnes as QB continues to ramp up, consistent with our previously disclosed guidance issued on January 20, 2025.
·       Increased QB copper production by 60,700 tonnes in the fourth quarter, compared to 52,500 tonnes in the third quarter of 2024. Annual copper production in 2024 from QB was 207,800 tonnes, within our previously disclosed guidance range of 200,000 to 210,000 tonnes.
·       We achieved design mill throughput rates at QB by the end of 2024, as expected, with record daily production achieved throughout the fourth quarter. We also saw an improvement in grades, as expected, and recoveries in the fourth quarter as compared with the third quarter of 2024, driving increased production in the fourth quarter.
·       We had scheduled planned maintenance in January 2025 at QB for minor modifications; however, we extended the scheduled shutdown to 18 days to conduct maintenance and reliability work, and complete additional tailings lifts as part of the operational ramp-up. Since production recommenced, we have been processing transition ores which was expected in the first quarter of 2025 in our mine plan. We continue to expect to see an overall increase in ore grades in 2025 over 2024 as we carry out the scheduled mine plan. Consistent with our operating plan, we expect to continue to have quarterly maintenance shutdowns. Our previously disclosed 2025 annual copper production for QB is unchanged at between 230,000 and 270,000 tonnes.
·       In the fourth quarter, we continued to make progress in advancing our copper growth strategy, reinforcing our commitment to long-term value creation through a balanced approach of growth investments and shareholder returns. Our focus remains on advancing our near-term projects – Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (HVC MLE), Zafranal, San Nicolás - for potential sanction decisions in 2025, and advancing optimization of QB, with a strong focus on identifying near-term growth opportunities for debottlenecking within the current asset base. All growth projects must meet stringent criteria, delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns and competing for capital in alignment with Teck’s capital allocation framework.
Safety and Sustainability Leadership
·       Our High-Potential Incident (HPI) Frequency rate continued to remain low at 0.12 in 2024.
·       On October 30, 2024, Teck was named to the Forbes list of the World’s Top Companies for Women 2024, an employee-driven ranking of multinational corporations from 37 countries around the world.
·       On November 15, 2024, Teck was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the eighth consecutive year by Mediacorp Canada’s Top Employers program, which recognizes companies for exceptional human resource programs and innovative workplace policies.
·       On December 2, 2024, we released our Climate Change and Nature 2024 Report, which for the first time combines the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to deliver an integrated report covering both climate and nature-related aspects of our business.
Guidance
·       On January 20, 2025, we disclosed our 2025 annual guidance, which is unchanged in this news release.
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Teck Resources Limited
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