Investment research company Standard and Poor’s released its ranking of largest metals companies worldwide with Arizona-based Southern Copper ranked third and Freeport-McMoRan fourth. This comes as the industry — and these companies — face very mixed earnings, despite their large size.
Southern Copper beat earnings estimates by 7.4 percent while Freeport-McMoRan reported a quarterly loss per share of two cents.
According to Freeport-McMoRan’s filings, the losses came from lower-than-expected earnings in oil and gas properties as well as terminating three drilling rig contracts that total almost $750 million.
Richard Adkerson, Freeport-McMoRan CEO, said the sale of assets is part of a long-term strategy to reduce debt and restore core operating strength. This comes as the copper industry holds an oversupply of product and the price remains at a relative low.
