By Robb M. Stewart
Franco-Nevada plans to name former Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese chairman of the Canadian gold-focused company.
The company, alongside plans to boost its quarterly dividend 16%, said its board intends to appoint Albanese as independent non-executive chair, effective May 12. At the same time, it plans to name founder and former Chief Executive David Harquail as chair emeritus.
Albanese, already a director of Franco-Nevada, was CEO of Rio Tinto from 2007 until he resigned in 2013 after the mining company announced a global write-down of $14 billion, including $3 billion related to coal assets it bought in Mozambique. He was CEO of Vedanta Resources and of Vedanta Ltd. from 2014 to 2017.
Harquail was CEO of Franco-Nevada for more than 13 years from its initial public officer in 2007, and since 2020 has been the company's non-executive chair.
Franco-Nevada, which generates cash flow from royalty and streaming deals on mining assets that provide investors with exposure to commodity prices while limiting exposure to cost inflation and other operating risks, said its board raised the quarterly dividend to 44 cents a share from 38 cents. The payout will be applied to each quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, and marks a 19th consecutive annual increase for the company.
The dividend will be payable on March 26 to shareholders of record on March 12. The payout has been declared in U.S. dollars, and the Canadian dollar equivalent will be determined based on the daily average rate posted by the Bank of Canada on the record date.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-26-26 0712ET
