Antofagasta says copper sales were 9.6% down in the first quarter

Antofagasta plc (LON: ANTO) said on Wednesday that copper production in the first quarter came in 5% lower than the prior quarter, as the Coronavirus pandemic continued to disrupt operations. COVID-19 has so far infected more than 4.3 million people in the United Kingdom and caused over 127 thousand deaths.

Antofagasta shares slid a little under 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday but recovered almost the entire intraday loss on market open. Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at £18.47 per share versus a lower £15.02 per share at the start of the year.

Antofagasta reports 183 thousand metric tons of copper production

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Antofagasta reported copper production in the quarter that concluded on 31^st March at 183 thousand metric tons. In the fourth quarter of 2020, it had produced a little over 192 thousand metric tons of copper.

The FTSE 100 listed company said production matched expectations. Copper sales, Antofagasta added, saw a 9.6% decline to 182,800 tons in the first quarter. At 83 pence a pound, net cash costs were 1.8% higher in Q1. In separate news from the United Kingdom, BHP Group said its annual iron ore output is expected near the upper end of guidance.

For the full year, Antofagasta expects copper production to fall in the range of 730 thousand tons to 760 thousand tons. The miner forecasts 90 pence a pound of net cash costs on average. The British multinational also said on Wednesday that it slashed the headcount at its Los Pelambres expansion project. The move, it added, will not affect schedules or costs.

Chief Executive Ivan Arriagada’s comments on Wednesday

CEO Ivan Arriagada commented on the quarterly update on Wednesday and said:

“The copper market continues to perform strongly, and we expect this to continue as structural supply and demand dynamics support a tight physical market. In the meantime, we maintain our focus on cost control and disciplined capital allocation. Production, cost and capital expenditure guidance for the full year is unchanged, assuming no additional nationwide restrictions are imposed due to the pandemic.”

In its earlier report published in March, Antofagasta recorded a 6% decline in net profit in 2020.

Antofagasta performed largely upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of more than 50%. At the time of writing, it is valued at £17.94 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 50.82.