(Adds CEO comment, company comments and high mine ore
production outlook)
HAMBURG, May 11 (Reuters) - Aurubis AG ,
Europe's largest copper producer, on Thursday confirmed an
upgraded core profit forecast for the current financial year as
it expects strong business environment and demand momentum to
continue.
Aurubis confirmed operating earnings before taxes (EBT) of
between 450 million euros and 550 million euros ($495.36 million
and $605.44 million) for the 2022/23 financial year, up from an
earlier forecast of 400 million to 500 million euros.
Operating EBT in the second quarter ended March totalled 166
million euros, only slightly down from the high level of 168
million euros seen in the previous year, Aurubis said.
The company said the change in forecast comes amid
expectations of continued high fees it can charge to process
copper concentrate (ore), firm price premiums for the copper it
produces and continued strong demand for copper wire rod with
high prices.
"Aurubis continued its positive development with a second
quarter on par with the exceptionally good previous year,"
Aurubis CEO Roland Harings said.
High demand for Aurubis' metal products showed Aurubis
metals are increasingly needed for the mobility and energy
transition and for digitalization, he said.
In the past six months, Aurubis has managed energy costs
through forward-hedging.
"Well-known research institutes and Aurubis continue to
anticipate growth on both the demand and the supply sides in the
copper concentrate market in calendar year 2023," the company
said.
"Due to capacity growth in existing mines worldwide along
with the ramping-up of new projects, expansion of global mine
output is anticipated to outpace growth in smelter capacities."
Refining fees, called copper concentrate treatment and
refining charges (TC/RCs), are paid by miners to smelters to
refine concentrate into metal. When mining output is high, mines
and other concentrate owners must compete for smelter capacity
which firms TC/RCs.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan, Editing by Friederike Heine and
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
