FreePort-McMoRan Inc stock rose. rose 6.3% on Wednesday after the mining giant's fourth-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, with copper volumes beating previous estimates.
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It also said it expects to produce more gold in 2024, while copper production will remain flat.
The company said fourth-quarter profits for the three months ending December 31 fell to $388 million, or 27 cents per share, from $697 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
The company's adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of 23 cents per share.
FreePort-McMoRan's fourth-quarter revenue rose to $5.91 billion from $5.76 billion, ahead of analysts' consensus estimates of $5.85 billion.
The company said fourth-quarter copper sales of 1.1 billion pounds exceeded its expectations in October. For the first quarter, FreePort-McMoRan expects sales of 1 billion pounds of copper. It expects 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, which is consistent with the number for 2023. It expects to sell 2 million ounces of gold this year, up from 1.7 million ounces in 2023.
CEO Richard C. Adkerson said the company is focused on “strong execution of our operational and investment plans, optimism about market fundamentals and a relentless drive to enhance the value of our strong portfolio of assets.”
Realized prices averaged $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 throughout 2023.
Molybdenum prices in the fourth quarter were $20.66 per pound for the quarter, down from $24.64 for the full year.
Before Wednesday's moves, the stock had fallen 18.2% in the past year, compared with the 21.1% gain for the S&P 500 SPX..
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