Teck's Q4 Earnings Call Highlights: A Year of Transformational Growth
On February 20, 2025, Teck hosted its Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Conference Call, providing investors with a comprehensive update on the company's performance and strategy. The call was led by Jonathan Price, CEO, who emphasized the significance of the past year in shaping Teck's future as a pure-play energy transition metals company.
The highlights from 2024 were presented on Slide 4, showcasing the company's remarkable advancements in its value creation strategy. Notably, Teck completed the sale of its steelmaking coal business for $8.6 billion, enabling it to reposition and focus on copper and zinc production. This transaction facilitated a substantial cash return to shareholders, with $1.8 billion distributed in dividends and share buybacks.
Jonathan Price highlighted that 2024 was a record-breaking year for Teck's annual copper production, increasing by 50% from the previous year to 446,000 tonnes. Red Dog also demonstrated strong performance in zinc production while improving net cash unit costs by $0.16 per pound. The company achieved these results safely, maintaining a low high potential incident frequency of 0.12 across its operations.
Teck's focus on cost discipline and managing controllable costs resulted in a 21% reduction in corporate costs compared to the previous year, totaling $88 million. This strategy is expected to yield positive impacts from structural cost reductions implemented following the sale of the steelmaking coal business. The company also progressed its value-accretive near-term copper growth projects, including the completion of QB construction in Chile and ramping up operations to design throughput by the end of 2024.
The fourth quarter performance was a strong conclusion to an exceptional year for Teck. Record copper production continued with third consecutive quarters of increasing output as QB reached its design throughput rates by year-end. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 160% compared to the same period last year, reaching $835 million. The company further reduced debt by $275 million and returned $549 million in cash to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends.
The call also touched on Teck's commitment to safety and sustainability. Jonathan Price emphasized the company's dedication to ensuring the health and safety of its people, operating responsibly, and building strong relationships with communities. In line with this focus, Teck released its 2024 climate change and nature report in December, incorporating recommendations from the TCFD and TNFD to provide an integrated report on the company's progress in these areas.
The upcoming 2024 sustainability report is expected to be published in March, providing a comprehensive update on all aspects of Teck's sustainability performance. This commitment to transparency and responsibility underscores the company's dedication to its stakeholders and the environment."
