Southern Copper 2Q profit falls 24 pct

LIMA — Peru's Southern Copper Corp. on Thursday said second-quarter profit fell 24 percent from the year-ago period amid strikes and higher fuel and production costs.

Net income fell to $548.5 million, or 62 cents per share, from $726 million, or 82 cents per share, in the same quarter last year, the Lima-based company said in an earnings report.

Despite record copper prices, second quarter sales totaled $1.46 billion, down 20 percent from the year-ago period, as copper production dipped 26 percent to 117,250 metric tons, the company said.

Southern Copper, which is 75 percent-owned by Grupo Mexico SA, is one of the world's largest copper producers, operating mines, smelting and refining facilities in Peru and Mexico.

Strikes at Mexico's Cananea copper mine, owned by Grupo Mexico, cut into second quarter revenue, Southern said. Miners at Cananea, the largest mine in Mexico, have been on strike for nearly a year to lobby for wage hikes and improved health and safety conditions.

At Southern's Toquepala mine, one of Peru's largest copper, miners found lower grade ore than they previously had, generating less metal there than last year.

Still, high world copper prices offset increased fuel and power costs, which would have otherwise taken a bigger chunk out of earnings, the company said.

U.S.-traded shares of Southern Copper fell 5.56 percent to close at $27.50 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday before earnings were reported.

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