Teck's steelmaking business jumps from $52M to $785M in 2Q
Michael Allan McCrae | about 19 hours ago


Teck ( NYSE:TECK) reported a profit of $577 million ($1.00 per share) in the second quarter compared with $15 million ($0.03 per share) a year ago largely thanks to its metallurgical coal business.

The Canadian integrated miner said that its gross profit in the second quarter from its steelmaking coal business unit was $785 million compared with $52 million a year ago.

The average realized steelmaking coal price of US$169 per tonne was US$86 per tonne higher than the second quarter of 2016, reflecting improved steelmaking coal market conditions and supply constraints in the quarter due to a cyclone in Queensland. The company achieved second quarter production of 6.8 million tonnes, slightly higher than the same period a year ago, but off the company's forecast 7.0 million tonnes.

"This was the result of our decision to advance annual processing plant maintenance shutdowns, originally planned for later in the year, into the second quarter," said Teck in news release.

Commodity prices were up markedly for Teck. The company reported that prices moved higher year-over-year with copper, zinc and lead prices rising 20%, 35%, and 26% in U.S. dollars, respectively, from the same period a year ago.

Copper gross profit was $128 million compared with $62 million a year ago. Copper production declined by 23% from a year ago primarily due to lower ore grades at Highland Valley Copper as anticipated in the mine plan.

Teck's gross profit from its zinc business unit was $153 million in the second quarter compared with $99 million a year ago.

Creative Commons image by Josh