Aurubis gives brighter earnings view as copper demand to rise

By Michael Hogan

HAMBURG (Reuters) - Aurubis AG, Europe's largest copper producer, reported a rise in annual earnings within its forecast range on Wednesday and predicted a higher range for its new financial year on the back of an expected recovery in copper demand and supply.

The company said it had come through the coronavirus crisis well. It reported a 15% rise in operating earnings before taxes of 221 million euros ($268 million) for its 2019/20 financial year, within its forecast range of 185-250 million euros.

For the 2020/21 financial year, which started in October, it forecast 210-270 million euros.

"Supported by industry forecasts and current demand on the markets, Aurubis expects global copper demand to increase again in 2021 following the temporary decline in 2020," it said.

New mining projects or mine expansions are starting in several countries and global mine output is expected to rise by nearly 4% in 2021, it said.

"Accordingly, we anticipate an increasing supply of copper concentrates (ore) on the global market," it added.

Earnings were boosted by significantly higher refining charges for copper scrap and other recycling materials, higher metal gains accompanied by increased precious metal prices, and a higher concentrate throughput.

Full-year net profit after tax rose 21% to 167 million euros. The company proposed a 2019/20 dividend of 1.30 euros per share against the previous year's 1.25 euros.

The throughput of recycling materials increased substantially, due in part to the inclusion of the newly acquired Belgian/Spanish recycling company Metallo, it said.

"The integration of Metallo is going completely according to plan," said Chief Executive Officer Roland Harings.

Aurubis said it had suffered "no production limitations so far" from the pandemic.

The company is pushing ahead with the planned sale of its flat rolled products (FRP) division. EU competition authorities blocked plans to sell it in 2019.

"It is still our clear intention to sell FRP, and we are in an advanced stage of negotiations. However, the process has been delayed by the coronaries crisis," Harings said.

(Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mark Potter)