Atalaya Mining shares drop on FY earnings miss, Q1 update

(Sharecast News) - The recent sell-off in Atalaya Mining's stock continued on Thursday, with shares dropping by 14% after full-year results and a first-quarter update from the Spain-focused copper miner disappointed, prompting investors to take profits after a stellar run in the stock over 2025. The company noted "challenging weather conditions" to kick off the first quarter, with rainfall holding back operations at its Riotinto project.

The stock had more than doubled over the past year to hit a record high of 1,094p in late January as shares tracked the price of copper to an all-time high.

However, since late February, the shares have fallen by nearly a third as investors banked their returns, with the stock down a further 13.7% at 705p by 1253 GMT.

Atalaya had announced a £130m equity fundraise in January after placing 13m shares at a price of 1,000p each, with the stock further dampened by a major share sale by stakeholder Trafigura.

Headline results for 2025 were only slightly behind consensus estimates, though earnings per share trailed forecasts by 9% due to impairment costs, while the dividend payout ratio disappointed the market.

Full-year revenues totalled €482.9m up from €326.8m the year before, driven higher by higher concentrate sales and higher realised copper prices. EBITDA jumped to €179.8m from €66.4m.

However, EPS of 60.8 cents - impacted by an impairment related to the E-LIX project of €24.1m - missed the 67 cents forecast.

The board declared a final dividend of 6.5 cents, taking the total annual payout to 10.9 cents, up from 6.47 cents in 2024 but well below the 15 cents expected by investors.

Nevertheless, according to Canaccord Genuity, which itself expected a dividend of 16 cents a share, the slightly lower 2025 dividend payout ratio "we think also points to greater growth optionality in 2026 and a strong capital allocation framework".

Looking forward, the company held on to full-year production guidance of 50,000-54,000 tonnes, but said output over the first quarter had been lower than planned due to difficult mining conditions at the Riotinto project.