Boliden smelters report healthy third quarter performance

Sweden-based Boliden has released its third quarter financial report, reporting that the period was characterized by high levels of smelter production and good cost control which compensated for lower market terms and production disturbances at Aitik, the country’s largest copper mine.

Third quarter revenues totaled SEK 9,764 million (€1,074 million) and the operating profit, excluding revaluation of process inventory, was SEK 1,055 million.

“Boliden has posted a healthy result for the quarter with a particularly strong performance by our smelters. Market terms with sharp falls in metal prices were the big challenge during the quarter, but a robust cash flow, good balance sheet and advantageous metal mix mean that Boliden is well positioned in a turbulent time for the metals sector,” says Boliden President and CEO Lennart Evrell.

Boliden smelters reported generally stable and high production levels, yielding a healthy profit. Production at both the Rönnskär copper smelter in Sweden and the Kokkola zinc smelter in Finland increased as a result of improvements in process stability, and the nickel operations at the Harjavalta smelter in Finland developed according to plan. The nickel smelting business model changed at the end of the second quarter, as is reflected in the operations’ revenues. The action plan at Rönnskär and the expansion of the Odda zinc smelter in Norway are proceeding according to plan, the company says.

The profit for Boliden mining operations was negatively affected by falling metal prices. Two of the Aitik mine’s three crushers were shut down for half of September due to unplanned stoppages. Higher grades meant, however, that production of copper and gold at Aitik increased, despite the fall in milled tonnage volumes. The expansion of Garpenberg in Sweden is proceeding and is scheduled to result in an annual production level of 2.5 million metric ton by the end of 2015.