Richard Adkerson
Richard Adkerson has been named chairperson of the world’s largest publicly-traded copper miner, Freeport-McMoRan, succeeding Gerald Ford who has stepped down as nonexecutive chairperson.
Adkerson, 74, will also continue as CEO, a position he has held since 2003, the NYSE-listed group said on Tuesday.
The board also appointed CFO Kathleen Quirk as president.
Meanwhile, Freeport announced the reinstatement of a cash divided on its common stock at a yearly rate of $0.30 a share. Prior to the suspension of dividend payments in April 2020, the cash dividend was $0.20 a share.
The board said it would declare a quarterly dividend of $0.075 a share.
Freeport also announced a new financial policy for the allocation of cash flows aligned with its strategic objectives of maintaining a strong balance sheet, increasing cash returns to shareholders and advancing opportunities for future growth.
Under the new policy, up to 50% of available cash flows generated after planned capital spending and distributions to noncontrolling interests will be allocated to shareholder returns and the balance to debt reduction and investments in value enhancing growth projects.
"The policy of combining a base dividend, which can be sustained in a range of market conditions, with a performance based payout framework, allows us to enhance long-term value for shareholders with a strong balance sheet, providing cash returns to shareholders reflective of market conditions and building long-term values in our undeveloped resources," said Adkerson.
The new payout policy will be implemented following achievement of a net debt target in the range of $3-billion to $4-billion, excluding project debt for additional smelter capacity in Indonesia.
Under current market conditions and with continued strong execution of our plans, Freeport said it would reach this target in early 2022. FCX has 1.46 billion common shares outstanding.