Jupiter Mines has announced an interim dividend of A$0.01 following a substantial dividend received from Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining, amounting to R142 million, or A$11 million.
Additionally, Jupiter is poised to receive R80 million, or A$6 million, in marketing profits from its South African manganese mining subsidiary.
Tshipi has declared a dividend of R300 million for the six months ending December 31, marking the first half of its 2024 financial year.
Despite a 17% decrease in the free-on-board (FOB) manganese price compared to the average across the prior two interim periods, Jupiter’s declared interim dividend surpasses the average of its last two interim dividends.
The manganese price averaged $3.45/t in the preceding two interim periods and decreased to $2.85/t in the current reporting period.
Jupiter’s latest dividend payout of 172% exceeds its stated dividend policy of distributing at least 70% of the dividends received from Tshipi.
In the 2022 and 2023 financial years, the interim dividends totaled $0.008 each.
Brad Rogers, Managing Director of Jupiter, attributes the strong dividend to the exceptional quality of the resource and management team at the Tshipi manganese mine, highlighting Jupiter’s commitment to delivering shareholder returns consistently across the manganese price cycle, even during periods of lower pricing.
The interim dividend of A$0.01 yields 6% at Jupiter’s current share price, contributing to the A$391 million in dividends distributed to shareholders since the company’s listing in April 2018.
Headquartered in Perth, Jupiter’s primary asset is a 49.9% stake in Tshipi, which stands as one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost manganese export operations, having been in production since 2012.
