ATLAS CONSOLIDATED Mining and Development Corp. on Wednesday reported a net loss of P153.16 million in the second quarter, nearly five times more than its losses in the same period last year, largely after a decline in its copper revenues.
Quarterly revenues slipped to P4.01 billion, down 2.3% from a year ago, of which copper revenues accounted for nearly P2.99 billion, down 15.8% from P3.55 billion in the same period last year.
In a statement, the mining company said the copper price in the second quarter decreased, pulling down the average realized copper price for the first half to $2.47 per pound or 12% lower than the year-ago price.
At the same time, it said the average realized gold price increased by 26% to $1.647 per ounce this year.
Atlas Mining’s gold revenues during the quarter reached P993.25 million, up 79.2% from P554.33 million.
In the first half, the company’s net loss attributable to equity holders widened nearly three times to P189.92 million, in part because of higher deferred tax provisions this year.
Its core income rose 66% year on year to P366 million, against P220 million in the same period. Gross revenues fell 6% to P8.05 billion.
The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 12% to P3.37 billion after the drop in revenues caused by lower copper prices was offset by lesser cash costs.
“This underpinned the increase in core income for the period and the increase in cash generated from operations, which enabled the payment of $20 million of its loans this year in addition to the $52.7-million loan payments for the year 2019,” the disclosure said.
The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Carmen Copper Corp., posted a 5% increase in its copper metal production to 54.17 million pounds while gold production rose 26% to 22,815 ounces due to higher tonnage milled and higher realized gold grades.
Atlas Mining said its milling tonnage rose 9% to 9.07 million tons while its copper grades fell 5% to 0.311% and gold grades climbed 25% to 7.68 grams per dry metric ton (DMT).
“Copper metal content of concentrate shipped was sustained at the same level from 53.57 million pounds to 53.36 million pounds while gold content increased by 19% to 20,348 ounces due to higher gold grade,” the disclosure said.
Atlas Mining President Adrian Paulino S. Ramos said that despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the company was able to meet all shipments and endure difficult market conditions in the first half of the year.
“Our costs significantly improved due to the completion of our peak waste stripping years. Lower stripping costs going forward should give Atlas the operating efficiency to weather any copper price cyclicality and to begin to pay down our debt,” he said.
“We remain mindful of our responsibility to our many stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic and have made operational adjustments that prioritize the health and safety of our people, while collaborating with our communities to ensure their welfare,” he added.
On Wednesday, shares of Atlas Mining were unchanged at P2.64 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
