Antofagasta profits soar as copper rallies

23rd Aug 2011 07:10

South America-focused copper miner Antofagasta posted a sharp rise in profits for the six months to 30 June as prices for the red metal soared and said its ability to keep costs down leaves it well placed to come with recent commodity price volatility.Net earnings rose to $696.2m from $451.2m over the same period the previous year on revenues that soared to $3.054bn from $1.761bn. Antofagasta, which operates in Chile, Bolivia and Peru, benefited from the average price per pound of copper rising to $426.3 from $323.4. It also ramped up production to 288,500 tonnes from $252,900 tonnes.Antofagasta expects to produce between 620,000 and 640,000 tonnes of copper over the full year, helped by the contribution of the recently-commissioned Esperanza mine in Chile, which is expected to produce between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes over the year. Leaving aside the contribution of Esparanza though, production has been held back by disruptions such as poor weather and strikes."Recent events have shown the volatility of commodity prices, and the industry is also continuing to see relatively strong cost pressures," chief executive Marcelo Awad said. "However, I believe that Antofagasta, with its low average net cost position, is well placed to deal with these challenges."---RG