Copper production boosts FreePort-McMoRan results past Wall Street expectations

By Steve Gelsi

Mining giant expects 2024 copper production to match year-end totals, with gold output to rise

FreePort-McMoRan Inc.'s stock rose 6.3% on Wednesday after the mining giant's fourth-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street projections, with its copper volumes exceeding its earlier estimate.

FreePort-McMoRan (FCX) also said it expects to produce more gold in 2024, while its copper production will remain flat.

The company said its fourth-quarter earnings for the three months that ended Dec. 31 fell to $388 million, or 27 cents a share, from $697 million, or 48 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company's adjusted profit of 27 cents a share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of 23 cents a share.

FreePort-McMoRan's fourth-quarter revenue rose to $5.91 billion from $5.76 billion, ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of $5.85 billion.

The company said its fourth-quarter copper-sales volume of 1.1 billion pounds exceeded its projection in October. For the first quarter, FreePort-McMoRan is expecting sales of 1 billion pounds of copper. It is forecasting 575,00 ounces of gold in the first quarter, up from 549,000 ounces in the fourth quarter.

For 2024, FreePort-McMoRan expects to sell 4.1 million pounds of copper, flat with the figure for 2023. It is projecting 2 million ounces of gold in the current year, up from 1.7 million ounces in 2023.

Chief Executive Richard C. Adkerson said the company is focused on "strong execution of our operating and investment plans, optimism on market fundamentals and a relentless drive to enhance the value of our strong portfolio of assets."

Average realized prices were $3.81 per pound for copper in the fourth quarter, down from $3.85 per pound for full-year 2023.

Realized gold prices in the fourth quarter rose to $2,034 per ounce, from $1,972 per ounce for all of 2023.

Molybdenum prices in the fourth quarter were $20.66 per pound in the quarter, down from $24.64 for the entire year.

Ahead of Wednesday's moves, the stock has fallen by 18.2% in the past year, compared with a 21.1% gain by the S&P 500 SPX.

Also read (August 2023): Freeport-McMoRan hit by 'cybersecurity incident'

-Steve Gelsi

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01-24-24 1018ET

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