Yahoo Finance Why is Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Rallying Today?
On Tuesday, shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX, a producer of gold, silver, and copper, are rallying, up about 5.5% in late-afternoon trading after the company announced it is resuming exports of copper concentrate from Indonesia.
For the last three months, Freeport-McMoRan has been dealing with regulatory restrictions on its copper concentrate exports, interrupting production at its Indonesia operations. Fortunately for the company and its investors, these restrictions were finally lifted, and Freeport has been given a six-month timeframe from the Indonesian government to resume operations while it negotiates a new licensing deal.
Phoenix-based Freeport also reported first-quarter financial results before the bell today. Earnings per share came in at 15 cents (this number excludes two cents from non-recurring items), missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents per share. Revenues of $3.34 billion also fell short of our consensus estimate and declined 4.7% year-over-year.
In Q1, Freeport’s sales of copper and gold were lower than projections. The company sold 809 million pounds of copper and 182 thousand ounces of gold, compared to expectations of 1 billion pounds of copper 160 thousand ounces of gold. This was driven primarily by the regulatory restrictions in Indonesia.
“The resumption of concentrate exports in Indonesia and expected continued strong performance from our Americas operations will enable us to generate significant cash flows in the balance of the year to achieve our balance sheet objectives. Our team is focused on reaching a positive near-term resolution to protect our past investments and support our long-term investment plans in Indonesia and in building long-term values in our large portfolio of high-quality copper assets in the Americas,” said President and CEO Richard C. Adkerson.
Currently, FCX is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM score of ‘B.’
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