https://www.miningweekly.com
Copper|Gold|PROJECT|Projects|Underground
Copper|Gold|PROJECT|Projects|Underground
copper|gold|project|projects|underground

Freeport quarterly profit misses expectations amidst Grasberg expansion

25th April 2019

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

Freeport-McMoRan, the world's largest publicly traded copper producer, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday due to slipping production and prices for the red metal.

The results come as the company spends more than $15-billion to expand Indonesia's Grasberg copper and gold mine from an openpit to an underground operation, a complex and time-intensive process.

Shares of the company fell 1.4% to $13.39 in premarket trading. The stock has gained about 35% since January, outpacing copper prices.

Freeport CE Richard Adkerson said in an interview earlier this month that the Grasberg expansion will be the company's main focus for the next two years and that Freeport will forgo any dividend raises or large-scale acquisitions in the interim.

The expansion will, Adkerson hopes, mark a pivot to massive growth for the company just as copper demand surges for use in electric cars and other electronics.

"We are optimistic about the future that our asset base and copper market fundamentals are expected to provide shareholders," Adkerson said in a statement.

The Phoenix-based company posted first quarter net income of $31-million, or 2c a share, compared to net income of $692-million, or 48c a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time items, Freeport earned 5c a share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 7c a share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Copper production fell 18% in the quarter to 750-million pounds, with the largest drop in Indonesia. The price Freeport receives for its copper fell 7% to $2.90/lb.

Output of gold and molybdenum also slipped during the quarter. Grasberg is also a major gold producer.

Freeport agreed last December to relinquish majority control of Grasberg under pressure from the Indonesian government, although it will remain the project's operator.

Freeport's production is expected to rise about 20% through the end of 2022 as the Grasberg expansion and other projects in the United States and elsewhere come online, according to Jefferies, a US investment bank.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Alco-Safe
Alco-Safe

An unmanned breathalyser that is made to be tough and simple to use. Can be used in any environment for operator-free breathalyser testing.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Willard
Willard

Rooted in the hearts of South Africans, combining technology and a quest for perfection to bring you a battery of peerless standing. Willard...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.127 0.164s - 113pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now