Freeport tops profit estimates on copper rally as Grasberg recovery continues
Freeport-McMoRan beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as higher copper prices offset lower output at its Grasberg complex in Indonesia, which is still recovering from a September 2025 mud rush incident.
Mine supply disruptions and resilient demand in top consumer China lifted average copper prices on the London Metal Exchange by 43% from a year earlier during the quarter, while Freeport's average realized copper price rose about 40% to $6.54 per pound.
The world's largest publicly traded copper producer reported a quarterly adjusted profit of 88 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 81 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The beat came despite a 9% drop in copper production from a year earlier to 832-million recoverable pounds, largely due to lower operating rates at Grasberg, one of the world's largest copper and gold mining complexes.
Majority-owned by the Indonesian government and operated by Freeport, the mine was hit by a massive mud flow in September last year that killed seven workers and halted operations for nearly a month.
The company has been working to repair the site, and expects operations to reach 80% of capacity by mid-2027 and approach full capacity by the end of 2027.
Gold sales were also affected by the timing of shipments and refining in Indonesia, falling 68.7% from a year earlier to 105 000 recoverable ounces.
Higher copper prices, however, helped Freeport report a net income of $1.2-billion for the period, a 74% jump from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Freeport said it was pursuing growth from existing assets beyond Indonesia.
The company expects to make an investment decision in the fourth quarter on a proposed expansion of its Bagdad mine in Arizona, which could add 200-million to 250-million pounds of annual copper production at an estimated capital cost of $4.5-billion.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Established on 1 March, 2000, by Barries Barnard, Advanced Fire Suppression Technologies (AFST) and the Advanced Group stands as Sub-Saharan...
VISIT SHOWROOM
The Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa was established to develop sustainable, internationally competitive carbon steel tube and pipe...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
