Freeport-McMoRan profit beats as high copper prices offset Grasberg hit

Miner Freeport-McMoRan beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher copper and gold prices helped offset lower production after Indonesia’s Grasberg mine incident that killed seven workers.

Average copper prices rose in the fourth quarter and hit all-time highs late in December thanks to robust US economic growth, a pick-up in Chinese demand as well as supply constraints.

Freeport also stands to benefit significantly from the 50% tariff on copper imports imposed last year given its status as the largest US producer and its greater expansion potential than rivals.

Quarterly average realized price for copper was at $5.33 per pound, up 28% from a year earlier, while gold prices were up 55% to $4,078 per ounce.

However, Freeport-McMoRan’s shares were down 1.5% at $59.70 premarket as the Grasberg incident dragged down production.

Copper production in the quarter was down 38.5% to 640 million recoverable pounds from a year earlier, while gold production was down about 85% to 65,000 recoverable ounces.

The company had suspended operations at Indonesia’s Grasberg mine after around 800,000 metric tons of wet material flooded the site on September 8. The heavy mudflows trapped seven workers underground, all of whom were confirmed dead by the company.

It had expected a phased restart and ramp-up of the underground mine to begin in the second quarter of 2026, and planned to restore production at the copper and gold mine by July.

The company reported an adjusted profit of 47 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 29 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(By Tanay Dhumal; Editing by Devika Syamnath)