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Additional Information
Market: NYSE
Sector: General Mining
EPIC: FCX
Latest Price: 31.81  (-1.12% Descending)
52-week High: 56.30
52-week Low: 29.87
Market Cap: 30,191.40M
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Freeport-McMoRan
www.fcx.com

Freeport-McMoRan is a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. FCX operates a portfolio of operating, expansion and growth projects in the copper industry and is the world’s largest producer of molybdenum.

Full Freeport-McMoRan profile here
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Freeport-McMoRan rallies on strong Q1 results

20th Apr 2011, 11:38 am by Deborah Sterescu
Freeport-McMoRan rallies on strong Q1 results

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) saw its shares jump on Wednesday morning after the company beat Street expectations with its first quarter results, benefiting from a surge in commodity prices and lower cash costs.

For the first three months of 2011, the copper, gold and molybdenum producer posted net income of $1.5 billion, or $1.57 per share, compared to profits of $897 million, or $1.00 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue shot up 31% to $5.7 billion. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $5.3 billion.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based company, with operations in North and South America, Indonesia and Africa, saw copper sales volumes decline, but it managed to raise revenue from higher prices.

The average realized price for copper rose to $4.31 per pound in the first quarter from $3.42 in the prior year period, while the price for gold was $1,399 per ounce, up from $1,100. Meanwhile, molybdenum prices increased to an average of $18.10 per pound from $15.09.

Consolidated copper sales in the first quarter totaled 926 million pounds, down from 960 million, while gold and molybdenum volumes increased marginally.

The company's cost structure improved as well. Unit cash costs, net of by-product credits, averaged $0.79 per pound of copper for the first quarter, compared to $0.82 per pound a year before.

Freeport said that cash costs are estimated to average approximately $1.04 per pound of copper for the full year 2011, better than the $1.10 per pound the company estimated in January.

For 2011, consolidated sales are expected to approximate 3.9 billion pounds of copper, 1.6 million ounces of gold and 73 million pounds of molybdenum. This beats the company's previous forecast of 3.85 billion pounds of copper, 1.4 million ounces of gold and 70 million pounds of molybdenum.

Reflecting the rosy outlook, Freeport announced in a separate statement that it has declared a supplemental common stock dividend of 50 cents per share, to be paid on June 1.

Freeport's shares were trading up by nearly 4% near noon on Wednesday at $53.78.

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