| | | | NEWS RELEASE NYSE: Common Stock Symbol “FCX” |
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. 1615 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA 70112 |
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| | | Financial Contacts: Kathleen L. Quirk (504) 582-4195 | | David P. Joint (504) 582-4203 | | Media Contact: William L. Collier (504) 582-1750 |
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Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. |
Announces $0.50 per Share Supplemental |
Common Stock Dividend |
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NEW ORLEANS, LA, July 19, 2005 - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized a supplemental common stock dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid on September 30, 2005 to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2005. The supplemental dividend to be paid in September represents an addition to FCX’s regular quarterly common stock dividend of $0.25 per share and the supplemental dividends of $0.25 per share paid in December 2004 and $0.50 per share paid in March 2005. The potential payment of any future supplemental dividends will be determined by FCX’s Board of Directors and will be dependent upon many factors, including FCX’s cash flows and financial position, copper and gold prices and general economic and market conditions. Based on approximately 177 million current shares outstanding, the supplemental dividend payment will approximate $88.5 million.
Richard C. Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of FCX, said, “Our strong first half financial performance and positive outlook is allowing us to return significant amounts of cash to shareholders through dividends and share purchases while continuing to improve our balance sheet. A continuation of strong copper and gold prices would enable our Board to consider additional financial measures in the future for the benefit of our shareholders.”
FCX explores for, develops, mines and processes ore containing copper, gold and silver in Indonesia, and smelts and refines copper concentrates in Spain and Indonesia. Additional information on FCX is available on our web site, www.fcx.com.
Cautionary Statement. This press release contains forward-looking statements in which we discuss factors we believe may affect our performance in the future. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts, such as statements regarding dividend payments and purchases of the Company’s common stock. The declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors and will depend on the Company’s cash flows and financial position, copper and gold prices and general economic and market conditions. Additionally, important factors that might cause future results to differ from these projections include industry risks, commodity prices, Indonesian political risks, weather related and currency translation risks and other factors described in FCX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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