PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner Oz Minerals reported a 168% increase in its after-tax net profit for the year ended December 31, on the back of record copper production of 130 305 t.

After-tax net profit surged to A$130.2-million during the 2015 financial year, compared with A$30.3-million reported in the previous year.

Revenue increased from A$831-million in 2014 to A$879.4-million, while operating cash flows doubled from A$208.3-million to A$429.8-million during the same period.

“Prominent Hill is proving itself to be a strong foundation asset,” said Oz Minerals MD and CEO Andrew Cole.

“Production is at record levels and by maintaining a sharp focus on costs, we’ve managed to increase our annual profit by over 160% despite the drop in commodity prices.”

Cole said that for Oz Minerals, 2015 had proven a year of transition where the company’s strategy helped to chart a clear course for significant operational and financial success.

“We still have lots to do, but I think we have a great asset in Prominent Hill that puts us in the enviable position to explore internal and external growth opportunities on the path to delivering shareholder value.

“We’ve made a strong start to the year with the results of our gold trial and a decision to expand the underground at Prominent Hill by building a second decline. With an announcement on Carrapateena due before the end of the month, we expect that the momentum will continue to build,” Cole said.

Oz Minerals is spending about A$12-million to expand the underground capacity at Prominent Hill, linking the existing underground development with the openpit operation. The second decline is expected to increase underground capacity by about 30%, to between 3.5-million and 4-million tonnes a year.

Looking ahead, Cole expected 2016 to be another strong year in terms of production, with Oz Minerals increasing its copper production guidance from between 105 000 t and 115 000 t, to between 115 000 t and 125 000 t, while gold production had been increased from the previous estimate of between 100 000 oz and 110 000 oz, to between 125 000 oz and 135 000 oz.