Phoenix-based miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. posted sharply higher second-quarter revenues and profits on Thursday as copper prices remained near record highs.
The company reported second-quarter earnings of $1.08 billion, or 73 cents per share, and 77 cents per share when adjusted for nonrecurring charges, on revenues of $5.75 billion in the period.
Freeportβs revenues were up 88% from second quarter 2020, as the average price the company realized for copper rose to $4.34 per pound from $2.55 in the same quarter last year.
The company had $53 million in net income in the second quarter last year.
Freeportβs second-quarter 2021 earnings beat Wall Street estimates but revenues fell short of forecasts. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research on average predicted earnings of 73 cents per share and revenue of $5.85 billion.
Freeport shares closed Thursday at $34.80, up 15 cents, in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The companyβs shares have increased 33% since the beginning of the year, while the S&Pβs 500 index has climbed 16%.
Freeport said its copper production rose 19% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, to 913 million pounds, while molybdenum production increased about 5% to 20 million pounds.
Gold production was up about 60%, at 305 ounces in the second quarter, while the average gold price realized rose slightly to $1,794 per ounce.
Freeport operates seven open-pit copper mines in North America, including the Sierrita mine near Green Valley and operations in Morenci, Bagdad, Safford and Miami in Arizona, and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico. The company also has mining and process operations in Peru, Chile and Indonesia.
Freeport employed about 8,500 employees in Arizona in 2019.
The company said it has completed initial development of a new copper leaching facility in Safford and is advancing studies to add new capacity at its long-lived Bagdad operation about 60 miles west of Prescott.
