Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Finnish mineral processing company Outotec more than doubled its profits for the first half of 2011.
The company said on Friday that its operating profit from business operations totalled 32.3 million euros between January and June, a 117% increase from the first half of 2010.
Outotec took in 536 million euros in sales, a 30% increase from H1 last year, and booked 875 million euros worth of orders, up 14% from the first half of last year. The company hit a record-high for order intakes in the second quarter, booking 532.1 million euros worth, a 52% increase from Q2 2010.
Major orders for Outotec throughout the reporting period included a 61-million euro copper flash smelting technology for National Iranian Copper Industries Company, the world’s largest iron ore pelletizing plant for Samarco Mineração, Brazil, and a copper flash smelting furnace deal with SNC-Lavalin for RTB Bor in Serbia worth EUR 60 million.
President and CEO Pertti Korhonen said historically high metal prices contributed to the robust numbers, particularly in gold, base metals, aluminum and iron ore.
“I am very pleased with our record-high order intake in the second quarter, which has led to an all-time high order backlog at the end of the reporting period,” he said. “New orders in the second quarter include the design and turnkey delivery of the world’s largest iron ore pelletizing plant for Samarco Mineração in Brazil. Services sales continued to grow strongly and was 30% higher than in the comparison period.”
Click here for the company’s full interim report
