Teck Resources Limited (TECKB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

My name is Sheila Murray, and I'm the Chair of the Board of Teck Resources. And I want to welcome all of you here today in person and those of you joining us virtually in this hybrid shareholders' meeting. I have to tell you, just before we start the formal business of the meeting, what a real pleasure it is to be here today 1 year later than last year's important meeting and to have a very different vibe in the room and a different excitement at the corporation. This has been an incredible year. The management team has done an amazing job at executing on the promises that we established last year at this meeting, and I want to thank them. I know Jonathan will do a presentation for all of you, but this has been an incredible year, and we're very, very proud of our executive team. Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge that we are meeting today on the traditional ancestral and unceded territory of the coastal Salish people, the Squamish, the Tsleil-Waututh and the Musqueam Nations. And apologies right upfront because I'm sure I got those pronunciations wrong. I'd like to introduce my fellow current directors and nominees in attendance today and ask that they stand when their name is called, so the shareholders present in the room can see you. First, Arnoud Balhuizen, who I don't know if you met last year, Ed Dowling, Norman Keevil, III, Tracey McVicar, Una Power, Paul Schiodtz. I'm wondering why Tracey is over there, but that's okay. Tim Snider, Sarah Strunk; and Yu Yamato, who's joining us for the first time today. Sitting on stage with me, of course, is Jonathan Price, our Chief Executive Officer and also a Director of the firm and our Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Charlene Ripley; and our Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary, Amanda Robinson. Following the business of the meeting, when the formal business has been adjourned and terminated, there will be a presentation by Jonathan and an opportunity for questions. At Teck, we begin each meeting with a safety message. I'd like to introduce Teck's Vice President of Health and Safety; and our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joshua Tepper to give a safety message.

Thank you so much, and thank you for the opportunity to present the safety share today. Before I turn to the share, I would like to review the safety procedures here at the terminal club for those of us joining in person today. In terms of alert to alarms, this organization has 2 at this venue. If you hear a slow bell, it will be accompanied by a clear announcement indicating that alarm has been triggered. Please wait for further instructions. There is no need to evacuate unless we're advised to do so. If you hear a fast bell, please calmly and carefully proceed to the nearest exit by following the marked exit signs. Once outside, the designated muster point is at courtyard on the west side of the building, where we will get further instructions. If there is a medical emergency, there are Level 2 WorkSafeBC First Aid certified staff on duty. There are also 2 defibrillators in the building, 1 at the front desk by member services and a second at the fitness center on the third floor. At this point, I'd like to turn to the safety share for today's Annual and Special Meeting and the topic I have selected is about being in the line of fire. The reality is in our industry and all industries each day people can find themselves in the line of fire. And what I mean by that is that somebody can find themselves in the path of an uncontrolled or unexpected release of stored or kinetic energy. We see here on this slide just a couple of examples of how that can happen. Someone might find themselves in the line of a moving forklift either through unattendance or a change in path of the forklift or perhaps they end up in the path of a suspended load that's moved by unexpected winds. Given the potential for line of fire events to lead to serious injury or worse, Teck invests significant efforts to reduce the chance of this occurring and these efforts are guided by the widely used model called the hierarchy of controls that we see on this slide. We prioritized the efforts on the top of this triangle, but we ensure that we take steps at each and every level of this model. We consistently look to design ways to work -- to reduce the need for people to be in the vicinity of stored or actively moving energy. And if that's not possible. We use controls like physical barriers or alarm systems to keep people safe. And we continue to move down these controls and to implement them to ensure that people are safe in whatever task they are doing, including the provision of the appropriate personal protective equipment. We continue as an organization to innovate the best means to keep people out of harm's way. I chose the risk line of fire today for safety share, partly because of just how common this risk is in our organization and because of how much time and effort we spend to mitigate this risk. But I also chose this topic because it's actually a risk that many of us are exposed to in our daily lives, regardless of the work environment you're in, and certainly in the types of things we do outside of our work. Just a few of these are highlighted on this slide and many of us can think of others. I'd like to encourage all of us to just try to be more mindful of the stored and active energy sources that are around us. And just to try to take small steps to think about how we stay out of the line of fire, take 30 more seconds to walk to the proper crossing point on the street or to wait for the light to fully change, be attentive, not on our phones as we navigate around street construction or busy traffic and even for simple household activities like getting something from a high shelf for quick tasks like carpentry, make sure you have the right tools, the right equipment and the right help. Our health and safety goal at Teck is to ensure that everyone goes home safe and healthy every day. And I hope this safety share helps all of you achieve that goal in all parts of your life. Thank you so much, and have a good meeting.

Joshua. As we said, we always start every meeting at Teck, whether it's a Board meeting, a committee meeting, we always start with a safety share, and we always learn something. And thank you because I know that we'll all think as we walk out of this room, where are the dangers here. So thanks very much. I want to take a moment to recognize 3 directors who will no longer be serving with us who have either retired during the year or are not standing for reelection today. They are Red Conger, our former President and COO; Tracey McVicar and Yoshi Sagawa. We won't -- they won't be standing for reelection at this meeting. And I want to thank each of you for your valued service and contributions to the company. You will be missed. I now bring the meeting to order. I'm going to chair the meeting, and I'm going to ask our Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary, Amanda Robinson, to act as Secretary to the meeting. Pursuant to the authority granted to me by Teck's bylaws, I appoint Zabrina Evangelista as the TSX Trust Company to act as scrutineer. The Secretary has confirmed to me that the meeting materials were mailed to shareholders in accordance with applicable laws on March 25, 2024. I direct that a copy of the declaration of mailing be attached as a schedule to the minutes of the meeting. I'll now ask the Secretary to read the scrutineers' preliminary report on attendance.

I am pleased to report that there are 53 shareholders holding 6,366,951 Class A common shares and 355 shareholders -- sorry, 355 shareholders, holding 380,657,453 Class B subordinate voting shares represented in person, virtually or by proxy at this meeting. This represents a total of 439 shareholders holding 1,017,352,553 total votes, which is 79.96% of the 1,272,303,204 issued and outstanding votes as of the record date of March 4, 2024, including 74.56% of the votes attached to Class B subordinate voting shares.

Thank you, Amanda. That's a great turnout for this virtual and in-person meetings. We're delighted to have that. Having determined that a quorum is absolutely present, I declare the meeting as properly constituted for the transaction of business and I direct that a copy of the final scrutineers' report on attendance be attached as a schedule to the minutes of the meeting. We'd now like to take a moment to discuss how voting and questions will be addressed in this hybrid format. Voting today will be conducted by way of a ballot on each resolution to be considered. Registered shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders who wish to vote at the meeting may vote either in person or online through the online platform. Registered shareholders who submitted a valid proxy in advance of the meeting do not need to vote again at the meeting or by electronic ballot. If you do not vote at the meeting, your previously submitted proxy will continue to be counted in the vote tabulation. If you're attending here in person, voting will take place with ballots that were provided to each of you when you arrive today, and they include each item of business to be voted on today. Please mark your ballots as the meeting progresses and the scrutineers will collect them at the end of the meeting. If you're in attendance online, voting will be conducted by the electronic ballot for each item of business to be voted on today. Polls will remain open on each item of business until, in my opinion, as Chair, every registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder has had ample opportunity to vote. Once all items of business at the meeting are voted on and the ballots have been collected, I'll call a brief recess if necessary, while the scrutineer determines the preliminary results. Rather than hold up the business of this meeting for a final tabulation, the final results of any vote on the matter before the meeting will be included in the minutes of the meeting, and there'll also be detailed voting results that are available on SEDAR+ for those who are interested. Each Class A common share carries 100 votes and each Class B subordinate voting shares carry 1 vote on all matters. Approval of all resolutions on matters before this meeting require an affirmative vote of only a majority of votes cast by the shareholders voting together as a single class in person or by proxy. Questions will be accepted only from registered shareholders or proxy holders attending in person or through the online platform. Each shareholder or proxy holder is requested to limit their questions to 2 minutes speaking time. If you are attending the meeting in person and would like to ask a question in respect of a motion please approach the microphone that's right in the center here, and I'll call on you at the designated time. When asking a question, please indicate your name, what entity you represent, if any, and confirm that you are a registered shareholder or a duly appointed proxy holder. If you'd like to ask a question, virtually, please submit your questions in respect of a motion through the virtual meeting platform which is monitored by our Secretary. To ensure fairness to all attendees, I will exercise my discretion as Chair to decide on the amount of time allocated to each question and may limit, consolidate or decline questions. We're happy to engage with our shareholders outside of the meeting in accordance with our shareholder engagement policy, which can be found on our website. And now to the actual business of the meeting. I apologize for all that detail. It is so hard to run a meeting virtually and in person, lots of legal rules around it. But here we go. Let's get to the business. The first item of business is the presentation of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, together with the auditor's report thereon. The financial statements were contained in our 2023 annual report, which is available on our website and under our profile on SEDAR+ and EDGAR in the U.S. Are there any questions or comments regarding this matter from shareholders or proxy holders? Amanda, anyone online with a question.

There are no questions online.

All right. Thank you. Seeing no questions, we'll move on to the second item on the agenda, which is the election of directors. 10 directors have been nominated for election in accordance with the provisions of general bylaw number one, they are, as said earlier, Arnoud Balhuizen, Ed Dowling Jr.; Norman Keevil, III; myself; Una Power; Jonathan Price, Tim Snider; sorry, Paul Schiodtz, pardon me Paul; Sarah Strunk and Yu Yamato. Based on the proxies received by the scrutineer in advance of this meeting, each director nominated has received votes in favor -- cast in favor that range from at least 94% to 99% of the votes cast. So I can say that all of the Directors have been elected based on the proxies submitted today. Are there any questions or comments regarding the matter from shareholders or proxy holders in the room? Amanda, anything online?

There are no questions online.

All right. I'll now entertain a motion that those nominees to be elected as directors of the corporation be elected. For efficiency, I have asked our Corporate Secretary, who is an appointed proxy holder to move all motions today.

So moved.

Thank you. Those of you in attendance, please mark your ballots now, including signing and printing your name on the ballot, as noted. If you're attending the meeting online and want to vote on this item of business, voting will remain open for a short period of time on the virtual meeting platform. Any shareholder or proxy holder who has not voted may do so now. [Voting]

Thank you very much. Okay. Let's move to the third item on the agenda, which is the appointment of the auditor. Based on proxies received from the scrutineer in advance of this meeting, our auditors, PwC, have received votes in favor, representing at least 90% of the votes outstanding. Are there any questions or comments regarding this matter from shareholders or proxy holders in the room? Amanda, anything online?

No questions online.

Thank you. I'll now entertain a motion to reappoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the corporation and authorize the directors to fix their remuneration.

So moved.

Please vote your ballots now or vote online while voting remains open. [Voting]

Okay. The fourth and last item on the agenda is the advisory vote on Teck's approach to executive compensation. Consistent with past practice, the Board has determined to put this before our shareholders, an advisory vote called Say on Pay, which is described in our management proxy circular. Based on the proxies received by the scrutineer in advance of the meeting, the Say on Pay advisory vote has received votes in favor, representing at least 98.39%. I'm surprised and pleased with that result. It means that the Compensation Committee, thank you, Ed, is doing a good job and that our shareholders are in favor of our policies on executive compensation. So that's really happy to hear. Any questions from -- or comments from shareholders or proxy holders. Hearing none, Amanda, anything online?

No questions online.

Okay. I'll now entertain a motion to approve the advisory resolution on the corporation's approach to executive compensation in the form set out in the management proxy circular.

So moved.

Please mark your ballots or vote online while voting remains open. [Voting]

All right. I'm actually going to declare the polls closed. I'm not even sure, Amanda, that we need to bother taking a break to get the preliminary results. I think that the tally that we have in front of us gives us sufficient information. So I'm now going to report formally. Okay. On the election of directors, each of the 10 nominated directors received vast majority of the votes cast in favor of their election and have therefore been elected. On the election of auditors and the reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor of Teck, they've received the necessary approval and are now reconfirmed as our auditors. And on the advisory vote, to executive compensation, the required number of votes cast were in favor of the resolution. The motion is carried and approved. I'll direct the final results on the vote for each matter. Before the meeting to be included with the minutes of the meeting, we will issue a press release with the voting results, detailing those, and we will also file those on SEDAR+ for those who are interested. We have now reached the termination of the formal business of the meeting and anything I have to do. And now the important business of the meeting turns over to Jonathan. I want to thank all of you for attending. Jonathan, look forward to hearing from you.

Have a good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us, and thank you to Sheila and the entire Teck Board for your continued guidance and leadership. 2023 was an important year for Teck as we laid the foundations and charted a path for a bright future. We made significant progress on our copper growth strategy, highlighted by our expanded QB operations, resulting in record quarterly copper production in the fourth quarter and strong production results continuing this year, and we delivered strong financial performance. We made significant progress in our industry-leading climate and nature protection goals. And of course, we reached an agreement to sell our steelmaking coal business. This sale will mark a transformational change and set Teck up to unlock value and growth as a global leader in responsibly produced energy transition metals. So before we start, I would like to draw your attention to the caution regarding forward-looking statements. This presentation contains forward-looking statements regarding our business. This slide describes the assumptions underlying those statements. Various risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to vary. Teck does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statements. I will also refer to various non-GAAP measures in these remarks. You can see how we define those measures and how they reconcile to our accounts in our most recent quarterly filings and in Teck's latest investor presentation in the Investors section of teck.com. So as you know and as we've articulated at the beginning of this meeting, everything we do at Teck starts with our commitment to the health and safety of our people. While our overall safety performance was strong in 2023, we were deeply saddened by a fatality at a legacy facility at Quebrada Blanca operations in May. We express our heartfelt condolences to Aldrin Lagos Ahumada's friends and family. In response to this tragic incident, we conducted a thorough investigation to identify the root causes and implemented new measures to help an incident like this from occurring again. And we shared the findings of the investigation across our organization and with other mining companies to contribute to safety across the industry. Through 2023, our high potential incident frequency rate which measures serious incidents that could result in an injury remained low at 0.14. So turning to our financial results. Teck achieved solid annual financial performance in 2023, driven by continued strong commodity prices. Our adjusted EBITDA was $6.4 billion and our profit before tax from continuing operations was $3.9 billion for the year. Importantly, we returned $765 million to shareholders including $250 million of Class B subordinate voting share buybacks. This represents additional cash returns to shareholders, exceeding the minimum 30% of our available cash flow. In February of 2024, the Board also authorized management to purchase up to $500 million of Class B subordinate voting shares in respect of 30% of the proceeds received in January 2024 from the minority sale of Teck's steelmaking coal business to Nippon Steel Corporation, which we began to execute in the first quarter. Our liquidity as of December 31, 2023, was $6 billion. And today, we have a very strong liquidity position of $7.1 billion. In 2023, we reached a major milestone in Teck's growth. The strong ramp-up of our newly expanded Quebrada Blanca operation resulted in record copper production in the fourth quarter of 2023 and QB's production was higher again in Q1 this year as ramp-up continues. In addition, all outstanding major construction at QB operation was completed in the first quarter of 2024, including the ship loader and molybdenum plant, and we marked the first shipment of concentrate from the completed port facility. Today, we are a top 10 copper producer with operations located in the Americas. The expansion of QB is expected to double Teck's copper production on a consolidated basis of full production, putting us on a path to become a top 10 global producer. Beyond QB, we are advancing a deep portfolio of attractive near- and midterm copper projects. At our HVC mine life extension project that includes advancing engineering and design and permitting. At our San Nicolas project in Mexico, we are advancing feasibility studies, including detailed engineering and progressing permitting. At Zafranal in Peru, we are updating capital and operating cost estimates, and commencing detailed engineering. And at QB, there is significant debottlenecking and expansion potential. By the end of the year, we expect to have defined project scope and begin studies to expand that asset. Turning to our environmental and social performance. We made significant progress working with our partners and communities in 2023. We conserved or restored an additional 37 900,000 hectares of land contributing to our nature positive goal. We announced agreements with shipping companies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions across our supply chain, including innovations like first electric tug boats in Vancouver Harbor, piloting hydrogen-driven locomotives and using wind power on shipping vessels. As of today, all Teck operated base metals operations have also been verified under the copper mark or zinc mark for strong environmental and social performance. And among other recognitions, Teck was named to the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the 14th consecutive year. Now looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, we are focused on creating new value. Once the proposed sale of our steelmaking coal business closes, Teck will be a very different company. We will be focused on value-accretive growth with the goal of transforming into the leading provider of responsibly produced energy transition metals and creating long-term sustainable shareholder value. We will do so by focusing on excellence at our producing operations and in project execution. By continuing to responsibly advance our industry-leading copper growth portfolio, while remaining focused on balancing growth with strong returns to our shareholders while maintaining a strong balance sheet. And by building on our competitive advantage as a recognized leader in sustainability performance. This is a pivotal moment for Teck. 2023 was a critical year as we achieved a milestone in growing our copper production and entered into a transaction that will position us for future growth and value creation. And looking ahead, we expect 2024 will be just as transformational as we launch our company into a new future as a provider of the metals that matter for our world and for a cleaner future. So thank you. And with that, I'm happy to take any questions.

My name is [indiscernible] I am a registered shareholder through my TD account. After selling our coal business, is it going to affect our revenue too much, considering that China has got thousands of power plants -- coal power fired plants and are unlikely to shut it down anytime soon.

Yes. Thank you very much for that question. The coal that we produce in the Elk Valley here in British Columbia is directed to the steelmaking business rather than to power generation. But nevertheless, your question around the change in the financial position of the company is a good one. Yes, of course, through the disposition of a very large part of our portfolio, we will lose the revenues and the cash flows associated with that business. Of course, we do that in return for significant cash proceeds, which we will look to use to improve our balance sheet, to invest in future growth in metals and for a significant return of capital to our shareholders. But importantly, as well, with the QB operation that we're currently ramping up in Chile, we will generate new revenue and new substantial cash flows, which can entirely or in part at least replace the revenue and cash flows that we will be selling through the disposition of Elk Valley resources. In that case, thank you very much.