MEXICO CITY - Mining and transport conglomerate Grupo Mexico reported a 19% boost in net profit in the third quarter from the previous year, the company said in a filing on Tuesday, buoyed by stronger margins and stronger sales particularly in its transport unit.
Net profit reached $697.6 million in the period, landing above forecasts from analysts polled by LSEG.
Revenue for the major global copper producer, which also operates sprawling freight railroads in Mexico, rose 17% to $3.65 billion during the July-to-September period, the company said in a statement.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 25% to $1.78 billion.
The transport unit saw a 17.5% increase in sales compared to the year-earlier period, while the mining division saw a 15.4% boost.
The strong transport performance comes despite the company clashing with the government in recent months. The company's results also held up against one of its subsidiaries having to suspend several north-bound freight trains in September because of fears over migrants traveling on them.
Grupo Mexico GMEXICOB.MX, controlled by billionaire German Larrea, operates major copper and other base metal mines across its home country, as well as in the United States, Peru and Spain.
Copper production was down 1% from the period a year earlier, while mining production costs were up slightly, although offset by a 7.7% increase in average copper prices.
The company said in its filing its 10-year forecasts for copper production remain unchanged, and that its planned production for 2023 stands at 1.05 billion metric tons.
The operational launch of Grupo Mexico's Buenavista Zinc project in Sonora has been delayed from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of 2024, it also said.