ATLAS Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said its net income surged to P7.57 billion in the third quarter, up from P218 million a year earlier, driven by higher copper prices, lower unit production costs, and increased metal output.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the listed miner reported core income of P6.65 billion, up from P97 million in the year-earlier period.

According to the company's unaudited financial summary, gross revenues climbed 74% to P22.34 billion from P12.86 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 179% to P12.29 billion from P4.41 billion. With EBITDA growing more than twice as fast as revenue, the quarter pointed to wider margins across the business.

The average invoiced price of copper rose 41% to $6.15 per pound from $4.37 per pound, while the average gold price gained 38.51% to $4,494 per ounce from $3,245 per ounce. Copper — a core industrial metal used in power transmission, construction, and electronics — is the primary product of Carmen Copper, Atlas's mining operation in Toledo City, Cebu, making realized prices and unit costs the main levers of its earnings. At the same time, the company's C1 copper production cost — a measure covering production, general and administrative, smelting, and related costs, by-product credits — fell 33% to $1.53 per pound from $2.28 per pound.

Stronger Operations at Carmen Copper

At its Carmen Copper operations, copper metal production increased 16% to 51.65 million pounds from 44.63 million pounds, even as milling volume declined 3% to 12.39 million dry metric tons (DMT) from 12.82 million DMT.

The average copper ore grade — the share of copper contained in the material fed to the mill — improved to 0.219% from 0.186%, meaning each ton milled carried more metal, while copper concentrate production rose 21% to 124,000 DMT from 102,000 DMT. Gold production increased 14% to 15,242 ounces from 13,385 ounces.

Shipments tracked output higher: copper concentrate shipments reached 124,000 DMT, up 21%, and copper metal shipments grew 16% to 50.66 million pounds, while gold shipments rose 13% to 13,874 payable ounces.

Cash costs, however, climbed 24% to P10.45 billion from P8.41 billion, according to the company — a total-peso figure that moved in the opposite direction of the per-pound C1 measure.

P1.5-Billion Cash Dividend

Separately, Atlas said its board approved P1.5 billion in cash dividends, equivalent to P0.42 per common share, during its regular meeting on Oct. 16. The company said the payout will be sourced mainly from cash generated from operations and will be payable on Dec. 10 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 12.

Shares of Atlas Mining gained 2.38%, or 44 centavos, to close at P18.94 apiece on Monday. The company's fourth-quarter results will be the next checkpoint for how prices, costs, and volumes settled.

— Alexandria Grace C. Magno

Source: BusinessWorld