Copper, molybdenum prices boost Cyprus Amax earnings

Higher molybdenum and copper prices last year enabled Cyrus Amax Minerals (NYSE) to report earnings of US$175 million (or US$1.69 per share) on revenues of US$2.8 billion. That compares with earnings of US$100 million on revenue of US$1.8 billion in 1993.

Operating cash flow before changes in working capital was US$550 million in 1994, up from US$355 million in the previous year.

Income from copper operations, including moly production, totalled US$206 million for the year, which was US$151 million higher than in 1993. The average realized price of copper was US$1.09 per lb., up US15 cents from 1993. Moly provided US$31 million in operating income for 1994 on production of 57 million lb. and sales of 77 million lb. Cyprus expects demand for the metal to remain strong in 1995 and notes that most of its sales are priced a quarter in advance. As a result, the company expects average realized prices for its moly production to jump by about US$3 per lb. for the first quarter of 1995.

Coal earnings for the year dropped to US$106 million, compared with 1993 earnings of US$142 million. The 1993 results included an extraordinary pretax gain of US$104 million and merger costs of US$3 million. Operating earnings in the coal division where higher, partly as a result of the addition of Amax operations.

Last year’s coal production of 79 million tons was 50 million tons higher than in 1993, and Cyprus expects this year’s figure will rise to 86 million tons.

The company received an average price of US$16.12 per ton for coal produced in 1995, compared with an average “cost of sales” of US$14.40 per ton and an average cash cost of US$12.21 per ton in the previous year.