The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Glencore's shares tumbled Wednesday after it posted an earnings slump for last year owing to lower commodity prices and slashed its payout to investors to finance a 77-per-cent share of Teck Resources' metallurgical coal business. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that after two consecutive record years, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell to $17.1-billion from $34.1-billion a year earlier, in line with analyst estimates (all figures U.S.). London-listed Glencore's shares were down 1.1 per cent, having earlier dropped by more than 6 per cent. The Swiss-based commodity giant's payout of $1.6-billion announced on Wednesday does not include a new buyback scheme, after the existing one ends this month, or a special dividend. To pay for the $6.9-billion acquisition of Canadian miner Teck's unit, Glencore has cut the dividend it will pay to shareholders to 13 cents per share this year compared with 34 cents last year. The deal will add 20 million tons of annual steelmaking coal capacity to Glencore's portfolio and it is expected to close by the third quarter this year. Glencore also plans to increase copper production.