Miners prepare to cut dividends after bumper year of payouts

Mining giants are set to cut their dividends after returning record amounts to investors last year.

Miner payouts accounted for £1 for every £6 spent by listed UK companies in 2022, according to data company Link, after rising commodity prices boosted profits.

But a drop in metal prices and companies’ plans to spend billions on projects spell the end of mega-dividends.

Rio Tinto paid shareholders £14 billion last year. But the regular dividend is expected to fall by 45 per cent to £6bn, according to Refinitiv forecasts.

Anglo American may see a fall of more than 50 percent, while BHP’s semi-annual dividend could fall by 40 percent.

Ben Davis, mining analyst at Liberum, said: “I think we are at or past peak dividend. They will be much calmer in the future.’

While miners already had hefty dividends, companies handed out excess profits to investors through special one-time payouts, which are unlikely to repeat.