Boston, MA 05/27/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) expects to see improvement in its production levels in 2014 than in the previous year. The improvement is expected to come from a boost from a new plant in Mexico. The company allocated $3.5 billion spending for the expansion of its Mexican Buenavista concentrator. That project expansion will be responsible for the anticipated production growth in 2014.
The company looks forward to producing 800,000 tons of copper this year, suggesting 19.4 percent improvement from the figures realized in 2013. And if all goes as planned, Southern Copper expects to hit production level of 1.2 million tons per year by 2017. That will be almost double the output realized last year.
More growth opportunity
In addition to the capacity boost expected from the expanded Mexican concentrator, the company also announced that its Tia Maria copper mine that suffered delays since 2011 will likely start operations in the second half of 2014.
According to Southern Copper CEO Oscar Gonzalez, the government is expected to look into an environmental study reported about the project within the 30 days. The project was delayed for several years because of some unsettling environmental issues.
The company expects its output at the Tia Maria mine to hit 120,000 tons of copper by end of 2016. The Tia Maria mine in southern Peru is a $1 billion production project.
Improving production is a strategic move Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) to secure higher revenue and profits from its operations. The company intends to take advantage of the market opportunities to create value for the shareholders. And taking advantage of market opportunities means boosting capacity that in turn improves efficiency such that the company can reduce costs and improve earnings even when market prices are not the best that can be expected.
Financial performance
Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) posted EPS of 39 cents in 1Q2014 missing the consensus estimate of 42 cents. Despite the weaker-than-expected earnings, the company expects the improvement in revenue to boost the bottom-line in the future.
