OZ Minerals is ticking the boxes on sustainability as a treasure trove of critical minerals and an industry leader on equal pay for women but its profit has slumped.
Counting down the final months before its acquisition by mining giant BHP, the copper and nickel miner on Wednesday reported the net profit after tax more than halved to $207 million for 2022 on net revenue of $1.9 billion.
OZ Minerals managing director and chief executive Andrew Cole said the company had a stronger second half after a challenging start to 2022 amid adverse weather, COVID-19 absenteeism, supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures and a weaker copper price.
"We continued to invest in our growth projects with expansions advancing at Carrapateena and Prominent Hill and final investment approval to develop our fourth operating asset, the West Musgrave copper-nickel project in Western Australia," he said.
Higher production costs reflected one-off disruptions in the first half, industry wide inflation and labour costs.
Mining operations needed additional support from contractors, diesel and power prices rose and higher hourly rates were paid for both operator and maintenance crews due to interstate market demand and turnover rates.
OZ Minerals low-cost copper and nickel assets are in demand in a world that is decarbonising and its acquisition will add to BHP's global footprint as it looks beyond iron ore and coal.
As the use of copper increases globally over the next 20 years more than half is expected to be used for clean energy, including electricity grid infrastructure and equipment that will power homes and businesses.
Nickel is an essential ingredient for lithium batteries used in electric cars and energy storage.
According to the sustainability report released with the annual results, OZ Minerals is creating an inclusive workplace that says no to bullying, harassment and discrimination.
An inaugural series of CEO Conversation Circles were held across operations to discuss workforce experiences of gender equality, inclusion and inappropriate workplace behaviours.
OZ Minerals is now publishing de-identified reports of investigations into such incidents on its company intranet and discusses them in Safety Circles across the business.
These activities have encouraged people to come forward, speak up and call out such behaviour, OZ Minerals said.
"We still have a long way to go but feedback from our teams has been encouraging," chair Rebecca McGrath said.
The mining company is ranked number one in industry by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for gender pay equity.
Last year, it increased overall female workforce participation, including contracting partners and employees, by 14 per cent and female employee leadership by 19 per cent.
A scheme booklet and independent report on the BHP offer of $28.25 per share will be sent to shareholders in early March, with the shareholder vote currently expected to be held in April 2023.
The board intends to declare a fully franked special dividend of $1.75 per share by mid-April, assuming the takeover takes effect.
