Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher prices for the metal offset a drop in production in the company’s Indonesian operations.
Phoenix-based Freeport also boosted its budget for the year by roughly 5% to $4.4 billion and forecast an increase for next year as well, surprising investors.
Shares were down about 6% in morning trading. Lower copper prices also pressured the stock.
Copper prices climbed in the fourth quarter of last year, buoyed by signs of increased stimulus in top consumer China, dwindling inventories, and accelerated US job growth in September.
Freeport’s quarterly average realized price for copper rose to $4.15 per pound, compared with $3.81 per pound a year ago, but quarterly copper production fell about 5% to 1.04 billion recoverable pounds on a year-over-year basis, weighing on overall revenue.
Freeport-McMoRan said it expects 4 billion pounds of copper sales for the current year, marginally lower than in 2024.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 31 cents per share in the quarter, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of 20 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reported revenue of $5.72 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, missing analysts’ average estimate of $5.88 billion, according to LSEG data.
(By Tanay Dhumal and Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Paul Simao)
