Friday May 16, 09:13 AM
African Copper Q1 net loss widens on lower interest, higher costs, forex losses
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - African Copper Plc (LSE: ACU.L - news) . reported a wider first-quarter loss on lower interest receivables,
higher cost and significantly higher losses in forex transactions.
The exploration and development company said for the first quarter to March its loss widened to 1.06 million pounds from 179,000 pounds, while forex loss widened to 798,000 pounds from 77,000 pounds, a year earlier.
During the period the company's bank interest receivable also declined to 475,000 pounds from 704,000 pounds and operational loss widened to 1.53 million pounds from 883,000 pounds, same period last year.
The company said it has started cold commissioning at its Mowana Mine property in Botswana, and expects to ramp production upwards during June and July 2008 and commercial production in the third quarter of 2008.
African Copper said while the demand for copper is being supported by strong growth in China and India, the industry is struggling to increase supply.
With many of the factors like project delays, falling ore grades, strikes, weather, shortages of sulphuric acid, changes in tax regimes and power shortages which do no have short-term solutions, long-term prices of copper are being revised upwards and a number of market analysts are expecting that long-term prices will remain on higher side for the next few years, it added.
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