Nexa Resources Peru S.A.A.

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What it is

Nexa Resources Perú S.A.A., formerly Compañía Minera Milpo S.A.A., explores and exploits mines and produces and sells zinc, copper, and lead concentrates. Its three operating units — Cerro Lindo in Ica, and the Pasco Mining Complex (which integrates the El Porvenir and Atacocha mines) in the Cerro de Pasco highlands — form the Peruvian backbone of one of Latin America’s largest zinc businesses.

The company was founded on 6 April 1949 and is headquartered in Lima, Peru. It is not a standalone miner but the Peruvian operating arm of Nexa Resources S.A., a Luxembourg-incorporated group listed on the NYSE and TSX under the ticker NEXA.

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Who owns it

The ultimate parent is Votorantim S.A. (“VSA”), which holds 64.68% of Nexa Resources S.A. — a Brazilian privately owned industrial conglomerate with interests in metals, steel, cement, and energy. VSA is itself controlled by the Ermírio de Moraes family, one of Brazil’s wealthiest industrial dynasties, making this a family-controlled company twice removed from Lima’s stock exchange.

The remaining roughly 35% of the Luxembourg parent is publicly traded free float held by institutional and retail investors globally; the board of the parent is chaired by Jaime Ardila, who has served as Chair since 30 July 2020.

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Who runs it

José Carlos del Valle has been CEO of Nexa Peru since November 2022, simultaneously serving as Senior Vice President of Finance and Group Chief Financial Officer of the broader Nexa Resources group. That dual role — running both the Peruvian operating company and the group’s finances — gives him unusual reach across the whole enterprise.

Del Valle came to Nexa after nine years as CFO of Compañía Minera Antamina and earlier stints as CFO of Volcan Compañía Minera, and in leadership at McKinsey, Standard Chartered Bank, and Wells Fargo. He holds an MBA from Wharton and completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

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The money, in plain words

In FY2025 the company earned US$0.20 per share, up sharply from US$0.003 in FY2024; revenue reached US$1.06 billion, up 21% on the prior year; net income came to US$256.9 million; and the net profit margin — how many cents it kept from every dollar of sales — hit 24%, versus just 0.5% the year before.

That near-50-fold jump in net profit in a single year shows how dramatically metal prices and operating leverage can move a miner’s bottom line. The stock now trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of about 4.4 times — well below the 6-times average for Peru’s metals and mining sector, suggesting the market has not yet fully priced in the profit recovery.

The trailing dividend yield sits at 8.0% — generous by any standard, though the payout ratio is high at 91%, meaning almost all earnings are returned to shareholders, leaving little room for error if profits dip again.

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What it is doing now

The most recent material moves were two Peruvian asset sales, both closed in late 2024. In November 2024, Nexa completed the sale of the Pukaqaqa copper-gold project in Huancavelica to Olympic Precious Metals Ltd. Then in December 2024, it completed the sale of the Chapi copper mine — held through Minera Pampa de Cobre S.A.C.

— to Quilla Resources Peru S.A.C. Both disposals signal a deliberate narrowing of the portfolio toward the company’s core zinc operations.

The group is also monitoring U.S. trade policy: an investigation into potential tariffs on critical minerals, including zinc, lead, and copper, is underway, though the U.S. remains heavily dependent on imported refined zinc, reducing the likelihood of severe tariffs on that metal.

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What to watch

• Metal prices: FY2024’s near-zero profit versus FY2025’s 24% margin illustrates the company’s extreme sensitivity to zinc and copper price swings — one bad commodity year can almost wipe out earnings entirely.
• Payout sustainability: With a payout ratio above 91% and a cash payout ratio above 100%, dividends are being funded partly beyond what earnings alone cover; any profit squeeze would likely force a cut in the distribution.
• Portfolio focus: With the Chapi and Pukaqaqa exits complete, watch whether management pursues further disposals or instead channels capital into extending the life of Cerro Lindo — the group’s largest and lowest-cost Peruvian mine.
• U.S. tariff risk: Although zinc imports look relatively protected for now, any shift in U.S. critical-minerals policy could affect pricing and demand for Peruvian concentrates.

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This is news, not investment advice.