Magma Copper has record first quarter

High copper prices and low operating costs enabled Magma Copper (NYSE) to post record income for the first quarter.

The company earned US$51.8 million (or 82 cents per share), compared with US$7.6 million (or 10 cents per share) for the same period in 1994.

Cash flow, before changes in working capital, amounted to US$69 million.

The company sold copper at a realized price per pound of US$1.32 for the period, which is up from US84 cents in the previous first quarter. Cash operating costs dropped 2 cents to a record low of 56 cents per lb.

Good prices and lower costs did not, however, result in higher sales. Magma sold 136 million lb. copper during the three months, compared with 140 million lb. in the first quarter of 1994.

Magma stresses that these numbers do not reflect the full impact of low-cost production from Tintaya, its new copper mine in Peru.