TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Southern Copper has reported a 14.3% slide in fourth-quarter profit, as lower sales and lower realised prices have impacted the bottom line.
The integrated copper producer, which operates mines in Mexico and Peru, said on Wednesday that income for the three-months ended December fell to $348-million, or $0.43 a share, beating average analyst expectations of earning $0.38 a share, on revenue of $1.5-billion.
Southern Copper reported sales of $1.47-billion, down 4.2% year-on-year, as weaker metals prices offset a 9.2% quarter-on-quarter increase in output to 183 616 t.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation slipped 8.7% to $664-million in the quarter.
For the 12-month period, the company recorded $1.33-billion in net income, down 17.6% over 2013, and a 9.7% increase in its copper output to 676 599 t.
Operating cash costs a pound of copper before by-product credits were $1.77 in the fourth quarter, a 9.4% improvement compared with the previous period.
The Peru government in December approved an environmental study for the $1.2-billion expansion of its Toquepala mine. The company said the expansion and its $1.4-billion proposed Tia Maria mine, in the same country, were expected to add 220 000 t of copper to its yearly production profile.
For 2015, Southern Copper expected to produce 758 000 t of the red metal.
Southern Copper, which believed that it currently controlled the largest copper reserves in the industry, is a NYSE- and Lima Stock Exchange-listed company that is 85.2% owned by Grupo Mexico, a Mexican company listed on the Mexican stock exchange.
The company’s NYSE-listed stock remained buoyant on Wednesday, adding 1.1% to $29.22 a share.