(Alliance News) - Taseko Mines Ltd on Wednesday said revenue was down, as copper prices and rising fuel costs impacted earnings.
The Vancouver-based mining company mainly focused in North America reported revenue for 2022 was USD391.6 million, down 9.6% from 433.3 million in 2021. Revenue for the three months to December 31 was USD100.6 million, down just 2.3% from the previous year.
The company said earnings were affected by lower average copper prices, at USD3.99 per pound, compared to USD4.23 per pound in 2021, and higher production costs due to an increase in fuel costs.
The revenue increase in the fourth quarter was due to an upwards move in copper and molybdenum prices, according to President and Chief Financial Officer Stuart McDonald.
The company posted a net loss of USD26.0 million, swinging from a net income of USD36.5 million the year before.
Basic earnings per share also swung to a loss of USD0.09, from USD0.13 the year prior.
"We are very excited about the long-term fundamentals of our North American copper business. Improved copper production from Gibraltar and continued robust copper pricing is setting Taseko up for a year of strong financial returns," McDonald commented.
During 2022, the company milled 30.3 million tonnes of copper at its Gibraltar project in British Columbia, increasing 3.8% from 29.2 million tonnes in 2021.
Sales decreased marginally to 101.3 million pounds of copper, 3.4% less than 104.9 million tonnes a year ago.
"We’ve recently announced several key financing initiatives for our Florence copper project, and we expect to start construction in the coming months, upon receipt of the final Underground Injection Control permit," McDonald said.
The company has a strategic partnership with Mitsui & Co, who will initially invest USD50 million in the project, for a 2.7% copper stream, with an option to invest a further USD50 million, to convert the copper stream into a 10% interest in the project.
Taseko shares were up 4.3% trading at 140.80 pence per share on Friday late morning in London.
By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter
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Taseko Mines L. (TKO)