Copper producer Kaz Minerals on track to hit 2015 output target

* Bozshakol, Aktogay projects expected to start by year end

* Net debt up $332 million from year end

* Targets 300,000 tonnes copper output by 2018 (adds comments from company exec, analyst)

By Silvia Antonioli

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Kazakh copper producer Kaz Minerals said on Thursday it was on track to hit its output target for the year as it posted production of 19,100 tonnes of copper cathode in the first quarter.

In response to lower copper prices and shrinking margins, Kaz, formerly Kazakhmys, implemented a restructuring last year which has transformed it into a smaller but lower-cost producer.

It said copper output remained on track to achieve the company's guidance of between 80,000 and 85,000 tonnes of cathode for 2015. In 2014, copper cathode output from continuing operations was 84,000 tonnes, down from total production of 294,000 tonnes in 2013, before the restructuring.

Under the revamp completed last year, London-listed Kaz hived off some of its oldest and least-profitable assets to a private company owned by two of its shareholders to focus on lower-cost, open-pit mines and its growth projects.

It now plans to grow its output again to about 300,000 tonnes by 2018 through three new projects: Bozshakol, Aktogay and Koksay. Bozshakol and Aktogay are both expected to be commissioned by the end of this year.

"The benefits of restructuring continue to play out, particularly in the consistent delivery of results, albeit with quarterly volatility," said Citi analysts in a note.

"Bozshakol delivery remains the key catalyst to move the stock higher from its current range."

The Kazakh company's net debt rose from $962 million at the end of last year to $1.3 billion at the end of the first quarter, as it invests in the growth projects and makes interest payments on its debt.

"We are in the process of building these projects and as we build them we are deploying capital so you would definitely expect debt to go up," said head of investor relations Chris Bucknall. (Editing by Vincent Baby)