Kazakhmys Full-Year Sales Increase 10% as Copper Prices Advance

Mar. 1 (Bloomberg) –Kazakhmys Plc (KAZ), Kazakhstan’s largest copper producer, said sales from continuing operations jumped 10 percent last year as copper prices advanced.

Revenue rose to $3.56 billion in 2011 from $3.24 billion a year earlier, the London-based company said today in a statement. The full-year dividend increased 27 percent to 28 cents a share.

Kazakhmys, developing the Bozshakol and Aktogay mines, is seeking to boost copper output to an annual 500,000 metric tons within five years from “just under” 300,000 tons planned for this year to meet Asian demand. It sold copper at an average of $8,756 a ton last year, up 16 percent from a year earlier.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, excluding special items, rose to $1.96 billion last year from $1.93 billion a year earlier. The results don’t include the contribution from Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., in which Kazakhmys holds a 26 percent interest.