Atlas Mining reports 78% profit slide
ATLAS Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. on Thursday reported a 78% fall in its first-quarter net income to P264 million mainly due to lower ore grade and milling tonnage.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the listed mining firm also cited the lower income of its Carmen Copper Corp. subsidiary because of a nonrecurring noncash gain booked in 2022.
Gross revenues for the first three months of the year slipped 10% to P4.93 billion from P5.49 billion in the same period last year.
Atlas Mining said the price of copper metal was down 11% to $4.05 per pound from $4.56 previously while the price of gold rose slightly to $1.89 from $1.85 per ounce.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization dipped 35% to P1.69 billion this year from nearly P2.60 billion a year ago. Cash costs rose 10% to P3.22 billion from P2.94 billion in 2022.
During the period, Atlas Mining said Carmen Copper reported lower output and shipment of gold and copper.
Carmen Copper recorded a 9% decline in milling tonnage to 4.18 million tons from 4.57 million tons.
The production of copper metal and gold both inched down by 1% to 19.88 million pounds and 5,975 ounces, respectively.
Atlas Mining recently reported that its full-year 2022 earnings decreased 16.6% to P3.22 billion from P3.86 billion a year earlier, citing higher prices of fuel and energy. Gross revenues slipped 4.4% to P17.68 billion from P18.5 billion.
On Thursday, shares of Atlas Mining dropped 13 centavos or 2.97% to close at P4.25 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
