Falconbridge Limited
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Falconbridge Limited 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Financial Highlights (US$ MILLIONS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA) 2004 2003 Operating Highlights Revenues $ 3,070 $ 2,083 Operating income 969 301 Earnings 672 191 Cash provided by operating activities before changes in working capital 1,067 445 Capital expenditures and deferred project costs 573 370 Financial Position Cash and cash equivalents 645 298 (at December 31) Working capital 933 649 Total assets 5,118 4,172 Long-term debt 1,437 1,427 Shareholders’ equity 2,563 1,938 Return on common shareholders’ equity (ROE) 31% 11% Return on net assets 31% 13% Ratio of net debt to net debt plus equity 24% 37% Per Common Share (US$) Earnings (Basic) $ 3.71 $ 1.03 Earnings (Diluted) 3.69 1.02 Cash provided by operating activities 5.38 2.48 Book value 14.25 10.84 Shares outstanding (millions of shares) 179.8 178.8 Front cover, from left to right: RETURN ON EQUITY RETURN ON NET ASSETS SHARE PRICE 1) Nickel Rim South, Sudbury, Falconbridge achieved a Falconbridge increased its During 2004, Falconbridge Ontario, vent shaft galloway 31% return on equity in RONA to 31% in 2004, maintained an average stock price assembly of two sections 2004 exceeding its 15% surpassing its 18% target. of Cdn$31.88, 60% higher than 2) Nickel end product ROE objective. its 2003 average of Cdn$19.95. 3) Lomas Bayas, Chile 4) Nikkelverk, Norway, refinery (%) (%) (Cdn$) 37 30 30 34 25 25 31 28 20 20 GOAL 18% 25 15 GOAL 15% 15 22 2003 average stock price 10 10 19 16 5 5 13 0 0 10 00 01 02 03 04 00 01 02 03 04 2003 2004 Investment Grade Credit Ratings: Moody’s: Baa3 Standard & Poor’s: BBB– Dominion Bond Rating Service: BBB High Why Invest in Falconbridge? Right metals – nickel and copper Solid production base – upside potential Growth opportunities – within our control Growing value of scarce resources Financial strength to fund operations and growth projects NICKEL PRODUCTION COPPER PRODUCTION Falconbridge achieved Falconbridge achieved record refined nickel production of copper mine production of 100,900* tonnes in 2004. 340,900 tonnes in 2004. (000s TONNES) (000s TONNES) 120 400 90 300 60 200 30 100 0 0 00 01 02 03 04 00 01 02 03 04 *Production was impacted by a three-week strike at Sudbury operations. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Why Invest in Falconbridge? 60 Auditors’ Report 2 International Operations 61 Consolidated Financial Statements 3 2004 Highlights 65 Notes to the Consolidated 4 To Our Shareholders Financial Statements 10 Falconbridge Nickel 90 Board of Directors 16 Falconbridge Copper 92 Ongoing Corporate Governance Initiatives 22 Summary of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources 93 Officers of the Corporation 24 Management’s Discussion 94 Corporate Directory and Analysis 96 Shareholder and Corporate 59 Accounting Responsibilities, Information Procedures and Policies WHY INVEST IN FALCONBRIDGE? 1 International Operations 2 4 8 3 15 1 12 6 14 10 13 14 6 14 5 6 7 12 11 9 11 12 NICKEL COPPER CORPORATE 1 Sudbury 7 Compañía Minera Doña Inés de 10 Corporate Office (Sudbury, Ontario) Collahuasi S.C.M. (44%) (Toronto, Ontario) Mines and mills nickel-copper (Northern Chile) 11 Project Offices ores; smelts nickel-copper con- Mines and mills copper sulphide (Koné and Nouméa, centrate from mines in Sudbury, ores into concentrate; mines and New Caledonia; Brisbane, Raglan and Montcalm, and leaches copper oxide ores to Australia) processes custom feed materials. produce cathodes. 12 Exploration Offices 2 Raglan 8 Kidd Division (Sudbury, Timmins and Toronto, (Nunavik, Quebec) (Timmins, Ontario) Ontario; Laval, Quebec; Mines and mills nickel-copper Mines copper-zinc ores from Kidd Belo Horizonte, Brazil; ores from open pits and under- Mine. Mills, smelts and refines Brisbane, Australia) ground mines. copper-zinc ores from Kidd Mine and processes Sudbury copper 13 Business Development 3 Montcalm concentrate and custom feed (Toronto, Ontario) (Timmins, Ontario) materials. Processes Montcalm Mines nickel-copper ores from an 14 Marketing and Sales nickel-copper ore. underground mine. (Brussels, Belgium; Pittsburgh, 9 Compañía Minera Falconbridge Pennsylvania; Tokyo, Japan) 4 Nikkelverk A/S Lomas Bayas (Kristiansand, Norway) 15 Technology Centre (Northern Chile) Refines nickel, copper, cobalt, (Sudbury, Ontario) Mines copper oxide ores from an precious and platinum group open pit; refines into copper metals from Sudbury, Raglan and cathode through the solvent from custom feeds. extraction-electrowinning process 5 Falconbridge Dominicana, (SX-EW). C. por A. (85.26%) (Bonao, Dominican Republic) Mines, mills, smelts and refines nickel laterite ores. 6 Custom Feed (Brussels, Belgium; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Christ Church, Barbados) 2 FALCONBRIDGE • 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Highlights Achieved record financial results with net income of $672 million ($3.71 per share) and ROE of 31% – Solid production allowed the company to take full advantage of high nickel and copper prices. With a strengthened balance sheet, a net-debt-to- total-capitalization ratio of 24% and over $1 billion in liquidity, Falconbridge has substantial financial flexibility to fund operations and growth opportunities. Nikkelverk, Norway, refinery Met or exceeded most production targets – Falconbridge produced 100,900 tonnes of refined nickel and a record 340,900 tonnes of mined copper in 2004. Lomas Bayas, Chile, blast drilling Generated $29 million in cost savings from Six Sigma projects – Momentum was maintained in 2004 with the completion of 64 projects. Over 1,000 employees have received training, including over 91 black and brown belts. Six Sigma continues to offset the cost pressures experienced at operations by improving operating efficiencies and margins. Falcondo, Dominican Republic, surface mining Completed growth and expansion projects in nickel and copper – Both the $77 million Montcalm nickel mine and the $584 million Collahuasi transition and concentrator expansion projects were completed under budget and ahead of schedule. Montcalm will increase refined nickel production by 9,000 tonnes annually. The expansion at Collahuasi will allow the operation to sustain mined copper production of 500,000 tonnes per year. Collahuasi, Chile, primary crusher transfer bin Advanced Koniambo Project – Completed a bankable feasibility study on the Koniambo nickel project, increasing the level of project definition, with engineering increasing from 10% to 25%. Completion of this study marks an important milestone in the development of the Koniambo project – one of the best laterite nickel resources in the world. Koniambo, New Caledonia, field work Exploration success strengthened nickel production profile – Falconbridge launched an underground definition program at Nickel Rim South, which contains 13.4 million tonnes of over 1.8% nickel, 3.3% copper and significant platinum and palladium. At Raglan, new discoveries and extensions to current ore zones added tonnes to the mineral reserves and resources equivalent to twice the amount of ore mined during the year. Nickel Rim South, Sudbury, Ontario, aerial view of vent shaft galloway installation 2004 HIGHLIGHTS 3 To Our Shareholders We had excellent results in 2004. Our performance was the result of the commitment to executing a proven strategy. We remained focused on nickel and copper, two metals with excellent funda- mentals; we strived to maximize the value of our assets through a focus on operational excellence; we expanded our pipeline of growth opportunities; and we maintained a strong financial position. During the year we achieved many of our operating goals. Production of 100,900 tonnes of refined nickel and a record 340,900 tonnes of mined copper positioned us to take full advantage of rising nickel and copper prices. This strong operating performance was realized with safety remaining a top priority. In 2004, we improved our safety performance with a lost-time injury frequency improvement of 11% over 2003 and 20% over the last two years. Solid operating performance led to record financial results in 2004. Earnings reached $672 million, or $3.71 of basic earnings per common share, compared to $191 million or $1.03 of basic earnings per common share in 2003 – a 252% improvement – and the return on shareholders’ equity was 31%. With improved earnings and cash flows, we also strengthened our financial position by reducing the Company’s net-debt-to-total-capitalization ratio to 24% from 37% at the end of 2003, and increasing our cash balance to $645 million from $298 million at the end of 2003. Overall, Falconbridge is in an excellent position. We will continue to benefit from the expected continuation of high metal prices and the growth in our production of nickel and copper with a high-quality pipeline of new projects. This will enable us to continue to add significant value for our shareholders in the years ahead. FOCUSED ON NICKEL AND COPPER Our strategy remains focused on the production of nickel and copper and the development of nickel and copper resources. This strategy has been particularly rewarding during a year when nickel and copper prices averaged $6.28 and $1.30, respectively – the highest prices we have seen in many years. SOLID OPERATING PERFORMANCE LED TO RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTS IN 2004: EARNINGS WERE $672 MILLION, OR $3.71 PER SHARE, COMPARED TO $191 MILLION OR $1.03 PER SHARE IN 2003, AND THE RETURN ON SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY WAS 31%. On the nickel side, after more than a decade of industry under-investment in new nickel production, demand has outstripped supply over the past three years. In 2004, the market deficit was satisfied by nickel inventories stored in the warehouses of various metal exchanges, such as the London Metals Exchange, as well as by existing producers. With inventories declining to critical levels, the nickel price, out of necessity, rose to a level that would both curtail demand and attract new supply. Nickel demand was strong during the year; however, some of that demand receded as stainless steel producers reduced the nickel content of their products.