Citi says quarterly production results of Aussie miners likely to be weaker but outlook the key

Avante

13/07/2020 21:43

** Research broker Citi says the quarterly production results of
key Aussie miners are expected to be weak sequentially, largely
driven by COVID-19 lockdowns
    ** However, broker says that while the operational weakness
is well flagged, it expects investors to focus on the outlook
for the rest of the year and any changes to guidance would be
watched closely
    ** For BHP Group's  BHP.AX  Q4 production, Citi does not
expect much impact from COVID-19, except in copper where it sees
a 15% sequential decline in volumes
    ** Overall, broker expects BHP to broadly meet its full year
production guidance in other commodities
    ** Expects Rio Tinto's  RIO.AX  Q2 to be a mixed quarter
with COVID-19 impact on copper whereas rest of the operations
are expected to report normal results
    ** Adds that Rio's iron ore volumes are expected to be
sequentially higher as 1Q was impacted by cyclone
    ** Sees a mixed quarter for South32 Ltd  S32.AX  as well and
adds that coronavirus-led disruptions are likely to have
impacted nickel and manganese volumes
    
    

 (Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru
Editing by Chris Reese)
 ((Shruti.Sonal@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @shrutisonal26))