Chilean copper miner Antofagasta announced a higher-than-expected dividend payout on Tuesday and reported a drop in annual core earnings that was in line with analysts' projections.
The company lowered its final dividend by about 9% to 37c a share from last year, but topped the expectations of at least two analysts.
Peel Hunt analysts had forecast 18c, while Barclays was expecting 19c.
The FTSE-100 company said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 13.9% to $2.23-billion in the year ended December 31 - in line with Refinitiv estimates.
Antofagasta had announced in January that annual copper production rose 3% to 725 300 t and came in at the higher end of its forecast, as its Centinela mine produced better quality ore and higher output.
This was after the company was forced to tighten its 2018 production guidance in October, hurt by demand disruptions for the metal, caused by top consumer China's trade war with the United States.
"As US/China trade negotiations have progressed during the first few months of this year copper price has traded favourably," CE Iván Arriagada said.