South Africa’s iron-ore major, Kumba Iron Ore, has hoisted returns to its broad-based black economically empowered (BBBEE) shareholding still further, taking the total returned since the company listed on the JSE to a whopping R21.7-billion.

The Anglo American group company is South Africa’s foremost BBBEE model by far, having also turned its 6 209 worker shareholders into pretax half-millionaires in 2011 with its Envision employee share ownership plan (Esop), which matures again in November 2016.

“We continue to make a significant and meaningful contribution towards South Africa’s broad-based empowerment initiative by paying substantial cash dividends to our empowerment shareholders,” Kumba CFO Frikkie Kotzee said.

Kumba churned out R31.4-billion in 2013, and paid out R13.7-billion of it to shareholders in dividends and R8.3-billion to the South African government in taxes and mineral royalties.

The company’s financial gearing of market capitalisation to debt is an ultralow 2%.

Revenue in the 12 months to December 31 rose to R54.5-billion, driven by a 17% weaker South African rand, and operating profit rose 20% to R28.4-billion, off an operating margin of 52%.

Last year, it spent capital of R6.5-billion and this year it will spend capital of between R6-billion and R6.2-billion.

Subsidiary Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC), in its final dividend for 2013, returned a further R2.7-billion to its BBBEE shareholders, taking the amount for the year to R4.5-billion, bringing the total since listing to R21.7-billion, which is more than South Africa paid on its ten stadiums that hosted the 2010 World Cup.

The 3% shareholding held by the SIOC Community Development Trust is valued at R6-billion and yielded another R261-million in the latest round of dividend payouts.

Black-controlled JSE-listed company Exxaro received another R1.7-billion for its 20% interest in SIOC and the Esop another R268-million in the final 2013 SIOC dividend declaration, from which employees will benefit from another cash distribution.