In an announcement on Wednesday, Antofagasta plc (LON: ANTO) said that its fourth-quarter copper production came in line with what analysts had anticipated. Copper production, it added, was better than the prior quarter (Q3). Antofagasta also highlighted that unitary costs in the recent quarter printed below guidance.
In separate news from the United Kingdom, pub company JD Wetherspoon expressed plans of raising roughly £93.60 million from investors that marks its second cash call since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
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The COVID-19 crisis has so far infected more than 3.4 million people in the UK and caused over 91 thousand deaths. Antofagasta shares opened roughly 0.5% down on Wednesday but jumped over 1% on market open.
Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at £15.20 per share after recovering from a low of £6.18 per share in the last week of March 2020 when the pandemic was at its peak. If you want to invest in the stock market online, you will need a reliable stockbroker – here is a comparison of the top few to make selection easier for you.
Antofagasta’s full-year production slides 4.7%
For the three months that concluded on 31st December, Antofagasta’s copper output stood at 192,600 metric tons that represents a 14% increase from the last quarter’s 169,600 tons. Annual production, the miner said on Wednesday, came in at 733,900 tons – a 4.7% decline from 2019. In its previous guidance, Antofagasta had expected close to 725 thousand tons of full-year production.
From October to December, the British multinational reported a 4.2% quarter over quarter decline in its net cash costs that registered at $1.14 per pound. Net cash costs for the full year also averaged at $1.14. In a guidance given in October 2020, Antofagasta had forecast under $1.20 per pound of net cash costs.
Antofagasta’s guidance for copper production
The London-headquartered company expects $1.25 per pound of cash costs in 2021 after by-product credits, and £1.17 billion of capital expenditure. Its estimates the range of 730 thousand to 760 thousand tons for copper production this year.
Antofagasta performed largely upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of more than 55%. At the time of writing, the British multinational mining firm has a market cap of £14.93 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 60.62.
