TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Toronto-based  Sherritt International swung to a first-quarter profit this year, helped by higher nickel, cobalt and energy prices.

The company earned C$59,7-million, compared with a net loss of C$42,9-million a year earlier, when the firm recorded a charge on the sale of oil and gas assets.

Sherritt sold 9,4-million pounds of nickel, 900 000 lb of cobalt, 9,8-million tons of thermal coal, 1,1-billion barrels of oil and 172 GWh of electricity during the quarter.

Revenue for the period rose 12,5%, to C$393,3-million, compared with C$349,6-million in the first quarter of 2009.

The company ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of C$764,8-million.

Capital expenditure totalled C$362,1-million, including C$315,9-million for the Ambatovy nickel project, in Madagascar, on a 100% basis.

Sherritt, led by CEO Ian Delaney, owns 40% of the Ambatovy project, Sumitomo and a consortium led by Korea Resources each have a 27,5% stake in the mine, and the project's engineering contractor, SNC-Lavalin, also has a 5% interest.

Once in full production, the mine is expected to produce 60 000 t/y of nickel and 5 600 t/y of cobalt.

Sherritt also has nickel, gas, oil and electricity generation assets in Cuba and coal operations in Canada.

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