Aurubis guidance sends positive signals

Hamburg, Germany-based Aurubis AG says it now expects operating earnings before taxes (EBT) of between 270 million euros and 330 million euros ($328.5 million to $401.5 million) during its 2020/2021 fiscal year. The range represents an increase from an earlier forecast of from 210 million euros and 270 million euros ($255.5 million to $401.5 million) in operating EBT.

The current fiscal year for the company, which predominantly makes copper, runs from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021. For that fiscal year, Aurubis says it is forecasting an operating return on capital employed (ROCE) of from 9 to 12 percent, following the previous forecast of 8 to 11 percent.

“At the start of the fiscal year, even the forecasts provided by industry experts were inconsistent,” says Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis. “This was one reason that we planned very conservatively. It is now apparent that both the refining charges for recycling materials and the metal prices will remain at the current high level. This will benefit us during the fiscal year, as will the strong demand for all products across all customer segments.”

According to preliminary figures, Aurubis generated an operating EBT of 82 million euros ($99.7 million) in the first quarter of its current fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. That represents a 165 percent increase compared with operating EBT of 31 million euros ($37.7 million) in the year-ago first quarter.

Aurubis says each year it produces more than 1 million tons of marketable copper cathodes made from copper concentrates and scrap materials. It operates melt shops in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Spain in Europe and has a plant in Buffalo, New York.