Chilean miner Codelco's pre-tax profit tumbles on FX effects

Fabian Cambero and Natalia Siniawski

Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 10:41 AM 2 min read

By Fabian Cambero and Natalia Siniawski

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean miner Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, connected Friday reported a flimsy bump successful accumulation successful the archetypal quarter, though the boost was not capable to offset exchange-rate effects, which caused its profits to tumble.

Codelco posted a 53% driblet successful pre-tax nett compared to a twelvemonth ago, slipping to $213 cardinal for the archetypal 3 months of the year.

The state-owned miner said its ain output ticked up 0.3% totaled to 296,000 metric tons, with full accumulation including its stakes successful Freeport's El Abra, Anglo American Sur and Teck's Quebrada Blanca rising 1.6% to 324,000 metric tons.

The miner is targeting copper accumulation betwixt 1.37 cardinal tons and 1.4 cardinal tons this year, arsenic it aims to boost output for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a enactment aft slipping to a quarter-century debased successful 2023.

Output successful the 4th was dragged down by rains and a nationwide blackout successful February, which reduced refined copper accumulation by 10,000 tons, Codelco said.

Core earnings, oregon net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), fell astir 12% to $1.35 cardinal arsenic the section peso currency mislaid ground, Codelco said.

The Chilean peso appreciated by 2.76% from the extremity of March 2024 to the extremity of March this year.

Codelco added that it had faced rising costs owed to planned excavation and works maintenance, arsenic good arsenic higher operating costs for instrumentality leasing, which wherever partially offset by little input prices, including for powerfulness and fuel.

The miner said that astatine its El Teniente mine, the Andesita conception is expected to footwear disconnected accumulation successful the 2nd 4th with Andes Norte pursuing successful the third.

Ramp-up of the concentrator astatine Rajo Inca, successful Codelco's Salvador Division, is expected to beryllium completed successful the 3rd quarter.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Kylie Madry and Alistair Bell)