Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) Profits Surge

Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) enjoyed fantastic earnings as first-quarter profits exploded by over three times what they did last year at the same time, as an increase in copper prices drove the earnings of the company up.

Net revenue at the company grew by C$908 million ($909.7 million), or C$1.53 a share from C$241 million, or 50 cents, last year. Overall sales increased to C$1.9 billion, or 14 percent.

After one-time charges, earnings were 35 cents a share, down from the analysts expectations of 49 cents a share.

The company earnings grew with the price of copper as mentioned, as copper prices on average on the London Metal Exchange doubled to $7,273.56 a metric ton, based largely on the increasing demand from China, whose economy grew at a hefty 11.9 percent rate in the same quarter.

Don Lindsay, President and CEO said in a statement today, “Our operating results reflect strong copper prices, but do not yet reflect the substantial increases in steel-making coal prices that have been negotiated.”

While most people think of Teck primarily as a copper-producing company, after the acquisition of Fording Canadian Coal Trust, which produces metallurgical coal for steel producers, coal now accounts for 46 percent of the C$7.67 billion of 2009 revenue for the company.

Assuming Lindsay's assertion is correct about coal not being factored into the earnings, we could see some great upside for Teck over the next couple of years.

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