Teck Resources tops profit estimates on stronger copper production and prices

Teck Resources beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher copper prices and increased production.

Shares of the company rose nearly 6% in premarket trading.

Benchmark three-month copper prices climbed 41.5% in the quarter from a year earlier, powered by concerns over tight supplies and strong demand in China.

Expectations of US tariffs on copper imports also supported prices of the metal.

Global copper demand is expected to jump 50% by 2040 as utilities rush to build facilities to cater to surging power consumption by data centers, the energy transition and higher defense spending.

Teck Resources, which is in the process of merging with Anglo American, said realized copper prices averaged $6.05 per pound in the second quarter, up from $4.32 per pound a year earlier. Production rose nearly 24.6% to 135,900 tons.

Production at the Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile increased to 55,800 tons, from 52,700 tons a year earlier.

The miner reported adjusted earnings of C$1.93 per share for the quarter ended June 30, above analysts’ average estimate of C$1.25, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Separately, the Canadian government this month announced a potential equity investment of up to C$400 million ($285 million) to support an expansion of Teck’s Trail Operations facility in British Columbia.

US-based peer Freeport-McMoRan is due to report results later on Thursday.

($1 = 1.4058 Canadian dollars)

(By Katha Kalia; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)