LONDON (Alliance News) - Copper-focused Atalaya Mining PLC said on Tuesday that its revenue grew in 2017 thanks to higher copper prices and production, while profit multiplied.
Pretax profit jumped to EUR21.9 million from EUR1.5 million in 2016, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization amounted to EUR41.3 million, up from EUR15.4 million.
Atalaya revenue grew 62% to EUR160.5 million in 2017 from EUR98.8 million in the previous year, with copper concentrate production during 2017 up 36% to 165,965 tonnes from 122,468 tonnes.
Inventories of concentrates as of Tuesday were 7,374 tonnes with no inventories held as at the end of 2016. The averaged realised price for 2017 was USD2.66 per pound of copper compared with USD2.25 in 2016. Concentrates were sold under offtake agreements in place.
Operating costs for 2017 amounted to EUR114.7 million, compared with EUR77.8 million in 2016. The increase was mainly due to higher mining and processing variable costs directly attributable to an increase in copper production, the company said.
Regarding Pryecto Riotinto, an open-pit copper mine in Spain, 2017 has been the first full year of commercial production with 8.8 million tonnes of ore processed and stable operations over the course of the year. Copper production from the mine was 37,164 tonnes, in line with 2017 guidance and 42% higher than 26,179 tonnes produced in 2016 while copper grade was consistent with estimates averaging 0.50% for 2017, in line with previous year.
Recovery rate was above estimates, increasing to approximately 85.5%, a material improvement on 2016 rate of 83.3%.
Looking ahead, the 2018 production guidance for the Spanish project targets an improvement on 2017 at between 37,000 and 40,000 tonnes, versus the 37,164 tonnes in 2017.
"We are delighted to report that our first full year of production at Proyecto Riotinto has been a success, with incremental operating improvements each quarter. We remain positive on the outlook for copper and believe that our plans to expand Riotinto to 15Mtpa and to deliver Proyecto Touro will ensure that these two projects commence production when the fundamentals for copper are at their most robust. 2018 will be another year of exciting progress as we implement these plans to grow our business," said Atalaya Chief Executive Officer Alberto Lavandeira.
Atalaya share are up 0.1% at 212.75 pence per share.
