Electric vehicles boom gives higher dividends to Nornickel shareholders

The growth is set to continue.

Russia’s Nornickel profited in 2017 in large measure thanks to a global rise in nickel prices. As the world’s largest refined nickel producer, the company can smile all the way to the bank following a growth by 29 percent in price over the year.

Increased prices follows a sharp growth in production of batteries for electric cars worldwide. Batteries in each car have grown bigger,while sales of all-electric cars climbed from 1.2 million in 2017 to an estimated 1.6 million in 2018 and are likely to grow to 2 million in 2019.

Nornickel paid $1.23 billion in dividends in 2016 and its board of directors now recommends a total dividend distribution for 2017 to amount to $2.16 billion. The annual shareholders meeting is set for June 28.

Good days for Nornickel continues in 2018. While other metal prices currently are nervously priced over global trade war concerns, nickel continues to grow with more than 20 percent in the first five months of 2018. Much can be explained by China, whose nickel import doubled from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. Production of batteries for electric vehicles in China continues to boom.

Nornickel has mines and smelters throughout Russia’s Arctic, both in Norilsk on the Taymyr Peninsula and in the cities of Monchegorsk, Zapolyarny and Nikel on the Kola Peninsula.