The Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) share price is plummeting on Tuesday after the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) copper giant posted its full-year earnings.
As The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier today, the company posted a record $922.7 million of sales revenue but dumped its final dividend. It will focus on repaying debt and pushing forward with its growth strategy instead of providing the payout.
The Sandfire Resources share price opened 2.5% lower at $2.60 and has continued to slide, hitting a low of $4.30, representing an 8.9% tumble.
It has since recovered slightly to trade at $4.45, 5.7% lower than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look at what's weighing on the copper producer's stock today.
Sandfire Resources share price tumbles 6% on Tuesday
The Sandfire Resources share price is plunging today despite what appears to have been a successful financial year.
Indeed, the company posted its first earnings from the Minas De Aguas Tenidas (MATSA) business. It acquired MATSA for US$1.86 billion in February. At the time, the purchase was described by Sandfire CEO Karl Simich as transformative.
The acquisition was finalised just months before the DeGrussa Copper Operation retires. It's expected to close its doors in October.
On top of its earnings, the company released news of the Motheo Copper Project, located in Botswana.
A positive definitive feasibility study has been completed for the project's expansion. That's expected to up its annual production to 5.2 million tonnes and will likely cost US$397 million.
The combined total ore reserve for the project's A4 and T3 deposits now sits at:
- 49.6 million tonnes at 1% copper and 14 grams per tonne of gold for 474,000 tonnes of contained copper and 122.3 million ounces of contained silver
Today's tumble included, the Sandfire Resources share price is 34% lower than it was at the start of 2022. It has also fallen 27% since this time last year.
