Copper firm Aurubis reports profit rise, sees steady outlook (updated)

LS

13/12/2017 07:24

(Adds detail, new strategy from paragraph 6) 
    HAMBURG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Aurubis AG  NAFG.DE , Europe's 
biggest copper smelter, said on Wednesday it expected stable 
earnings in the financial year to September 2018 after posting a 
34 percent rise in its fiscal fourth-quarter operating earnings. 
    Aurubis said operating earnings before taxes (EBT) rose to 
87 million euros ($102 million) for the fourth quarter in the 
2016/17 year ending September 2017 against 65 million euros in 
the same period a year earlier. Full-year operating EBT rose to 
298 million euros, up 40 percent from the previous year. 
    "We anticipate a result at approximately the same level as 
2016/17 for the current fiscal year," CEO Juergen Schachler said 
in a statement, adding that the firm also expected a slightly 
lower return on capital employed operating (ROCE). 
    Analysts in a Reuters poll had on average forecast 
fourth-quarter operating EBT of 88.2 million euros and full-year 
operating EBT of 299 million euros.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1OB3Q0  
    The group proposed an annual dividend of 1.45 euros per 
share for the fiscal year. 
    "In an environment characterized on the whole by economic 
and political uncertainties, Aurubis expects stable to good 
demand for copper products in the coming fiscal year," the firm 
said, adding copper was vital for new technologies, such as the 
renewable energy business. 
     "However, the treatment and refining charges benchmark for 
copper concentrates has not yet been determined, also the 
markets for copper scrap and sulphuric acid are difficult to 
forecast," it said. 
    Copper treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) are paid by 
miners to smelters to refine concentrated ore into metal and are 
a key part of copper industry earnings. Smelters and miners have 
not agreed to terms for next year's TC/RCs.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1O00B0  
    Aurubis gave details of its Vision 2025 corporate strategy 
announced in March, involving expansion into production of other 
non-ferrous metals and into new geographical areas.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1GF2UW 
    "The company wants to initially generate growth from 
within," Aurubis said. 
    Aurubis is processing increasingly complex primary and 
secondary concentrates and scrap, and expanding output of 
additional metals such as nickel, selenium or tellurium.  
    The firm said it planned to double sales of non-copper 
metals by fiscal year 2022/23. 
    Aurubis plans to invest about 320 million euros at its 
Hamburg and Olen smelters partly to boost output of precious 
metals and increase efficiency. New sales channels for recovered 
metals would be developed, it said. 
    Aurubis is working with South Korea's LS Corp.  006260  on a 
feasibility study about constructing a factory for 
battery-capable nickel sulphate in Korea. 
     
    ($1 = 0.8506 euros) 
 
 (Reporting Michael Hogan,; Editing by Ludwig Burger) 
 ((michael.j.hogan@thomsonreuters.com; +49 40 419 03 4275; 
Reuters Messaging: 
michael.hogan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: AURUBIS RESULTS/