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The investor clamour for copper has helped push Antofagasta (ANTO) profits up by half in 2025, as higher prices for gold and copper outweighed a slight drop in output.

Antofagasta’s shares dropped 5 per cent on Tuesday morning, as investors got record profits but “just not quite as big a record as we expected”, in the words of one analyst.

The South American miner reported an average copper price of $11,000 (ÂŁ8,092) per tonne for the year, almost 20 per cent ahead of 2024. This alone added $1bn to the top line of $8.6bn for the year. Copper production was 653,700 tonnes, down 2 per cent on the year before.

Ebitda was up 52 per cent to $5.2bn. The final dividend of 48¢ was double the payout from last year, but analysts had expected more, pencilling in 56.5¢. Peel Hunt analysts said this showed a “degree of conservatism from the board”.

BHP’s (BHP) copper profits came in ahead of expectations and overtook the iron ore division for the first time, its interim results showed. This marks a turning point given the company’s strategy to increase copper production.

It also came with a renewed commitment to paying out to investors as the dividend came in well ahead of forecasts at 73¢ (54p) per share, after a drop in the payout ratio a year ago.

The copper high-water mark came because of record prices for the red metal and an increase in production from the Escondida mine in Chile. Overall, first-half underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) climbed a quarter to $15.5bn, ahead of analyst consensus of $15.1bn.

ITM Power (ITM) lifted its full-year revenue guidance by 11 per cent to between ÂŁ40mn to ÂŁ43mn, citing “strong project progress” on recently announced deals. 

Guidance for cash generation and adjusted earnings remained the same, though. The maker of electrolysers for hydrogen production is still expected to post an adjusted Ebitda loss of between ÂŁ27mn-ÂŁ29mn but to be sat on a net cash pile of at least ÂŁ170mn at its year end.

The company’s shares rose by 4 per cent. They had closed 8 per cent higher on Monday after it announced that one client had given the green light to press ahead with a 20 megawatt, “industrial scale” project for which a contract had already been announced.

Sirius Real Estate’s (SRE) recent acquisition spree shows no signs of slowing. The company raised £77mn last night to fund two acquisitions in Germany with an estimated value of €130mn (£113mn), as part of an ongoing push to buy defence-related assets in the country.

The Reit, which improves unloved multi-let industrial parks in the UK and Germany, raised the equity at 102p per share, a 1 per cent premium to yesterday’s close price. This is also 1 per cent above its last reported net tangible asset value (net assets less intangibles). That’s no mean feat, given the wider sector is trading at a 20 per cent discount.

“The success of this fund raise [ . . . ] demonstrates the continued support amongst the investment community for our strategy [ . . . ] as well as the opportunity for further growth from our pipeline,” said chief executive Andrew Coombs. Shares rose 4 per cent in early trading.

Life insurer Chesnara (CSN) has acquired Luxembourg-based closed life insurance business Scottish Widows Europe for €110mn (£96mn), just two weeks after completing a major deal with HSBC (HSBA).

Management forecasts Scottish Widows Europe, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), will generate €250mn over the lifetime of its books. The deal, which is expected to complete around the end of this year, will add €1.7bn of assets under administration.

Chesnara, which entered the FTSE 250 last year, completed the £260mn acquisition of HSBC Life’s UK arm earlier this month. Management expects that to generate more than £800mn of cash over its life.

The shares rose 2 per cent in early trading.