Kenmare Resources not expecting to become takeover target
Kenmare Resources boss Michael Carvill is not anticipating the company becoming a fresh takeover target amid ongoing consolidation in the industry.
The Irish mining firm is one of the world's leading producers of titanium feedstocks, via its Moma mine in Mozambique.
Four years ago, heavy interest from Australian miner Iluka Resources came to nothing and a far less healthy looking Kenmare, at the time, said it was not reliant on being acquired in order to survive.
The company is now debt-free, is looking at ramping up production from Moma by 25% by 2021 and will start paying dividends to shareholders, for the first time, later this year.
Speaking after Kenmare's agm, Mr Carvill said: "It's always a predatory world out there. All we can do is do our business as best we can. We see a future as Kenmare, developing and increasing the capacity of this project and returning value back to our shareholders and all stakeholders involved."
He also expressed concern over trade tensions between the US and China - the latter a huge market for Kenmare - even though neither country is placing tariffs on material being imported from Mozambique.
It's got to have an effect in a general sense because a trade war reduces world growth, and the growth of our market correlates with world growth.
Both Mr Carvill and chairman Steven McTiernan expressed frustration to investors over Kenmare's share price performance - down over 19% in the past 12 months.
In reply to one shareholder question, Mr McTiernan defended Kenmare's executive pay policy and said a new long-term pay plan will be put before shareholders at next year's agm.
