MINRES IS CEMENTING ITSELF AS AN INDUSTRY LEADER ON THE BACK OF THE COMPANY’S DESIRE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY, NAVIGATE CHANGING OPERATING LANDSCAPES AND MOVE QUICKLY TO SEIZE NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
James McClements | Independent Non-Executive Chair While our achievements to date are remarkable, MinRes remains as ambitious as ever. We have matured into an ASX 50 company and mapped a transformational pathway that will see us double in size over the coming years and strengthen our reputation as an Australian success story. I commend Chris Ellison and the executive leadership team for their stewardship and commitment to growing MinRes in a way that stays true to its origins – ambitious and agile – and continuing to demonstrate foresight, assess risk and act in the best interests of our stakeholders. People are MinRes’ most important resource and our growing workforce continues to achieve incredible things every day. As the lifeblood of our company, our people are guided by shared values and will be pivotal to delivering MinRes’ transformational growth strategy. MinRes has always been returns-focused and since 2006 has proven to be one of Australia’s best performing companies, averaging 18 per cent return on invested capital and 33 per cent total shareholder returns. Strategic investment in projects, people and systems will strengthen the foundations already laid for MinRes’ long-term success and ensure we continue our strong track record for sustained high returns. This year MinRes deployed significant capital across key growth projects, including construction of our long-life Onslow Iron project, expansion of our world-class lithium portfolio and a successful natural gas exploration program in the onshore Perth Basin. These projects will underpin the company’s growth for decades to come. The company delivered a pleasing full year result, with underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment (EBITDA) of $1.8 billion, up 71 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Operating cash flow of $1.4 billion was up
6 I MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
$1.1 billion on the prior period, driven by increased earnings and maintaining working capital outflows. To reflect this performance and reward our shareholders, the Board declared a final fully franked dividend of $1.90 per share. PEOPLE AND SAFETY In an increasingly tight labour market, MinRes continues to prioritise attracting, developing and retaining quality people who can support our ambitious growth plans. Over the past 12 months, MinRes’ workforce continued to grow and our remuneration framework was strengthened to offer fairer and more equitable recognition of the critical role our people play in our success. As our workforce expands, we remain committed to providing respectful environments that embrace diversity. It was pleasing to see MinRes’ progress on gender equality over the past year, with female workforce participation rising from 16.9 per cent in FY21 to 22.2 per cent in FY23. The number of women in management roles has almost doubled over the same period and the company made pleasing progress in Indigenous representation, which has increased to 3.5 per cent. These improvements reaffirm MinRes’ focus on creating environments where our people feel welcome and supported. Whether it’s our leading-edge head office or a village resort strategy setting new industry standards, MinRes continues to invest in environments that encourage our people to not just perform at their best – but be their best. Nothing is more important than the physical and mental wellbeing of our people and, while MinRes’ long-term safety performance is industry leading and valued, we understand the need to continually review and strengthen our safety culture.