Jiangxi Copper warns of enduring volatility after profit miss

Jiangxi Copper Co., one of China’s largest producers of the metal, reported full-year earnings that narrowly missed estimates and warned of ongoing volatility in the market.

The company’s IFRS net income rose 2.2% year-on-year to 6.9 billion yuan ($950 million), just shy of analysts’ estimates for 7 billion yuan, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday. Revenue declined 0.2% from a year earlier to 521 billion yuan, also missing estimates.

Tight supply and steady demand from the power industry are expected to keep copper prices relatively strong, though the market will be volatile in 2025, the company said. From a macroeconomic perspective, US trade policies including high tariffs will be a key driver for prices, it said.

The global copper market was turned on its head in January when US President Donald Trump first talked about imposing tariffs on imported copper. Futures on New York’s Comex exchange spiked to fresh all-time highs this week after Bloomberg News reported duties could come within several weeks — months earlier than the deadline for a decision.

Jiangxi’s earnings reflect strong copper prices over the course of last year as the global green-energy transition underpinned demand. Still, the results were affected by its loss-making refining business, which has been hurt by a shortfall of concentrate.

The company’s profitability may lag behind domestic peer Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. due to lower self-sufficiency in concentrate and a higher revenue contribution from its trading business, which has thin margins, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

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