WARSAW, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Poland’s KGHM, one of the world’s biggest copper producers, reported a 50 percent fall in second quarter net profit as lower sales, rising costs and provisions offset the positive impact of higher copper prices.
KGHM said on Thursday that second quarter net profit fell to 171 million zlotys ($45 million), from 341 million a year ago, and missed analysts forecasts of 361 million zlotys due to exchange rate effects on borrowings and provisions.
The company said that average copper prices in the second quarter rose by 21 percent year on year, while copper sales fell by 7 percent. In zlotys terms, copper prices where the highest since the first quarter of 2013, KGHM also said.
The miner also said that in the first half of the year production of electrolytic copper from its own concentrates fell by 7 percent to 171,000 tonnes, which compares to the 2018 full year plan of 381,000 tonnes.
Copper production at the Chilean Sierra Gorda mine, KGHM’s flagship foreign project in which it has a 55 percent share, fell by 10 percent year on year to 25,000 tonnes versus a full year target of 59,000 tonnes. ($1 = 3.7797 zlotys)
(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Susan Fenton)
