Berenberg raises target price on Antofagasta

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Chilean multinational Antofagasta from 2,100p to 2,200p on Friday following the group's first-half results a day earlier. Berenberg said Antofagasta's interim results were broadly in line with its expectations, but noted it also included a beat on net debt. Revenues of $3.8bn and underlying earnings of $2.2bn were both in line with estimates, while underlying earnings per share came in at $0.47, versus its $0.48 estimate.

The German bank highlighted that the beat on net debt, which at $2.3bn was well below its $2.9bn estimate, was driven by capex phasing for ongoing growth projects at Centinela and Los Pelambres, although capex was expected to rise in H2.

"Overall, this was an unsurprising set of results, with the stock closing down by c0.7% on a down day for copper prices," said Berenberg, which reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock.

"We update our model for the H1 financial results and make slight adjustments to our estimates (ie capex phasing). This has a small impact on our estimates and our price target lifts to 2,200p per share. For investors looking for high-quality copper exposure, we think that Antofagasta is a clear stand-out. The shares are currently trading on 2.09x NAV and 7.4x 2025E EBITDA."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com