- Adjusted net earnings1 for the first quarter were $10.8 million, an increase over adjusted net earnings of $7.3 million for the prior-year period. The increase in adjusted net earnings reflects higher cash margins realized on copper sales due to higher market copper prices, offset by the reduced ownership in Gibraltar. Adjusted EPS for the first quarter 2011 was $0.06 compared to $0.04 for the first quarter 2010.
- Operating profit1 was $18.6 million in the first quarter 2011 compared to $24.6 million in the first quarter 2010.
- Cash margins1 continue to benefit from higher copper prices, increasing 34% to US$2.21 per pound from US$1.64 per pound in the prior year period. This corresponds with a 51% gross margin in the first quarter of 2011 versus 50% in the first quarter of 2010.
- Gibraltar’s copper production and sales volumes for first quarter 2011 were 19.2 million pounds and 17.0 million pounds, respectively. In first quarter 2010, copper production and sales volumes were 23.2 million pounds and 20.5 million pounds, respectively.
- During the quarter we announced plans to proceed with a $325-million expansion at Gibraltar. Gibraltar Development Plan 3 (“GDP3”) will increase annual production capacity to 180 million pounds of copper.
- In April, we completed a public offering of US$200 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes. We intend to use the proceeds primarily to fund GDP3.
- In May, we announced an 80% increase in mineral reserves at the Gibraltar mine, adding approximately 1.8 billion pounds of recoverable copper to the previous reserve of 2.5 billion pounds for a total of 4.3 billion recoverable pounds of copper.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, remarked “Cash margins continue to be a focus for the Company as we balance stripping requirements with metal production. The site’s primary focus has been completion of the SAG mill direct feed system which is now operational and we expect to see increasing mill throughput in the coming months. Unit operating cash costs for the quarter have increased as a result of increased strip ratio, a stronger Canadian dollar, higher consumable costs including diesel, steel, and reagents as well as lower metal production.
Read the full news release here.
