(Reuters) -Freeport-McMoRan surpassed Wall Street estimate for third-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher copper prices helped counter lower production after operations were suspended at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.
The miner’s shares were up 3.3% in premarket trading. They have gained 7.1% so far this year.
Average copper prices rose during the quarter from a year earlier, supported by signs of better demand in key consumer China as authorities vowed to stabilize industrial growth and a major hydropower project in Tibet.
Quarterly average realized price for copper was $4.68 per pound, up about 9% from a year earlier.
Freeport-McMoRan had warned of lower consolidated copper and gold sales in the third quarter, following a nearly month-long halt in operations at the Grasberg mine after around 800,000 metric tons of wet material flooded the site on September 8.
Heavy mudflows had trapped seven workers underground, all of whom were confirmed dead by the company earlier this month.
The miner had said a phased restart and ramp-up of operations at one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines may occur in the first half of 2026.
It forecast fourth-quarter copper sales at 635 million pounds and gold sales at 60,000 ounces, both lower than what it had reported a year earlier, dragged down by the suspension.
Shanghai copper had touched a six-month high in September after force majeure at the Grasberg mine, with traders pricing in further tightness of raw material supply.
Freeport’s copper production stood at 912 million recoverable pounds during the third quarter, down 13.2% from a year earlier. Gold production was at 287,000 recoverable ounces, down 37.1% from a year ago.
The company reported an adjusted profit of 50 cents per share for the three months ended September 30, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 41 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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