Freeport-McMoRan beats quarterly profit estimates on production boost

Shares of the company rose 1% in premarket trade.

Average realized copper prices were up about 8.6% in the reported quarter compared to last year, as economic stimulus in China spurred hopes of a rise in industrial activity.

Freeport had obtained a license to ship copper concentrate from its Indonesia operation until May 2024, getting an exemption from the country’s ban on raw mineral exports that had hit the company’s shipping volumes in the second quarter.

The company said it incurred $147 million in export duties in Indonesia and was in continuous discussions with the Indonesian government on the issue of taxes.

Average cash costs per pound of copper in the second quarter were $1.73, about 18% higher than the previous quarter, and are expected to average $1.63 per pound for 2023 due to higher export duties, the company said.

Freeport raised its forecast for copper sales volumes in 2023 to 4.06 billion pounds, from 4 billion pounds earlier.

The mining giant said its quarterly production of copper rose to 1.09 billion pounds, from 1.06 billion pounds a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company earned 39 cents per share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with average analysts’ estimate of 34 cents per share, according to LSEG data.