13th Nov 2024 11:08
(Alliance News) - Atalaya Mining PLC on Wednesday said it continues to believe in the fundamentals of copper, as it announced a fall in profit due lower the production of the metal.
The Spain-focused miner said pretax profit dived to EUR2.4 million in the third quarter of 2024 from EUR10.7 million a year ago.
Revenue rose 1.7% to EUR86.8 million from EUR85.4 million, but operating costs increased 5.3% to EUR69.8 million from EUR66.3 million.
Atalaya produced 11,901 tonnes of copper in the third quarter, a 5.1% decline from 12,541 tonnes a year ago. The output of copper concentrate, however, rose 17% to 69,307 tonnes from 59,306 tonnes.
Atalaya's average realised copper price climbed 9.5% to USD4.13 per pound from USD3.77.
Mine site depreciation and amortisation increased 37% to EUR12.4 million from EUR9.0 million.
Notably, Atalaya incurred a loss of EUR1.7 million on foreign exchange differences in the third quarter, compared to a gain of EUR705,000 a year ago.
Chief Executive Officer Alberto Lavandeira said: "With our strong balance sheet and skilled development team, we believe we are well-positioned to execute on our growth pipeline. We also continue to believe in the fundamentals for copper, given the challenges associated with building large new mines in remote regions around the world."
Looking ahead, the company expects copper output for 2024 to be at the lower end of its previous guidance of 45,000 to 50,000 tonnes. For 2023 it had reported contained copper production of 51,667 tonnes.
Cash costs are anticipated to be at the high end of its guidance range of USD2.80 to USD3.00 per pound, up from USD2.79 in 2023.
All-sustaining costs are expected at the high end of its guidance range of USD3.00 to USD3.20 per pound of copper payable, compared to USD3.09 in 2023.
Atalaya shares fell 7.8% to 329.50 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.