Yahoo Finance Freeport (FCX) Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates in Q4
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX recorded net income (attributable to common stock) of $697 million or 48 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2022, down from $1,106 million or 74 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 52 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents.
Revenues declined roughly 7% year over year to $5,758 million. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,341 million. The results were hurt by lower copper and gold prices. The company, however, witnessed higher copper and gold sales in the reported quarter.
FreeportMcMoRan Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
FreeportMcMoRan Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FreeportMcMoRan Inc. Quote
Operational Update
Copper production rose roughly 4% year over year to 1,070 million pounds in the reported quarter.
Consolidated sales rose 2% year over year to 1,042 million pounds of copper. The company sold 458,000 ounces of gold (up around 16% year over year) and 19 million pounds of molybdenum (stable year over year) during the quarter. Gold sales rose primarily due to increased operating rates and recoveries at the Grasberg minerals district.
Consolidated average unit net cash costs per pound of copper were $1.53, up around 19% year over year. The upside was caused by increased energy prices, higher costs for sulfuric acid as well as maintenance and supplies.
Average realized price for copper was $3.77 per pound, down roughly 15% year over year. Average realized price per ounce for gold declined around 1% year over year to $1,789. Average realized price per pound for molybdenum was $18.94, down around 2% year over year.
FY22 Results
Earnings or full-year 2022 were $2.39 per share, down from $2.90 per share a year ago. Revenues were $22,780 million for the full year, down around 0.3% year over year.
Financial Position
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2022 were $8,146 million, up around 1% year over year. The company’s long-term debt was $9,583 million, up around 6% year over year.
Cash flows provided by operations were $1.1 billion for the reported quarter and $5.1 billion for full-year 2022.
Guidance
For 2023, Freeport anticipates consolidated sales volumes to be roughly 4.2 billion pounds of copper.
The company also expects gold sales volumes of 1.7 million ounces for 2023. It also expects sales of 80 million pounds of molybdenum for the year.
For the first quarter of 2023, Freeport expects sales volumes to be 0.9 billion pounds of copper, 300,000 ounces of gold and 20 million pounds of molybdenum.
Unit net cash costs for copper are predicted to average $1.60 per pound for 2023.
The company also expects operating cash flows of approximately $7.2 billion for 2023.
Price Performance
Freeport’s shares have increased 16% in the past year compared with a 33.7% rise of the industry.
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Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Freeport currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD, Commercial Metals Company CMC and Nucor Corporation NUE.
Steel Dynamics currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLD's current-year earnings has been revised 0.4% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Steel Dynamics’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.2%, on average. STLD has rallied around 103% in a year.
Commercial Metals currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The consensus estimate for CMC's current-year earnings has been revised 9.8% upward in the past 60 days.
Commercial Metals’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 16.7%, on average. CMC has gained around 55% in a year.
Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a projected earnings growth rate of 21.5% for the current year.
Nucor’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 3.9%, on average. NUE has rallied roughly 66% in a year.
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