PHOENIX (dpa-AFX) - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) reported that its fourth-quarter net income attributable to common stock was $743 million, $0.78 per share, compared with net income of $640 million, $0.67 per share, for fourth-quarter 2011. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Fourth-quarter 2012 net income included a net credit of $40 million or $0.04 per share associated with adjustments to environmental obligations and related litigation reserves and a gain for insurance recoveries, partly offset by charges for labor agreement costs at Candelaria and for costs associated with the PXP and MMR transactions.
Consolidated sales from mines for fourth-quarter 2012 totaled 972 million pounds of copper, 254 thousand ounces of gold and 21 million pounds of molybdenum, compared with 823 million pounds of copper, 133 thousand ounces of gold and 19 million pounds of molybdenum for fourth-quarter 2011.
Fourth-quarter 2012 consolidated copper sales of 972 million pounds were higher than the October 2012 estimates of 930 million pounds, primarily reflecting higher production in North and South America.
Revenues for the quarter rose to $4.513 billion from $4.162 billion in the prior year quarter. Twelve analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $4.47 billion for the quarter.
Consolidated sales from mines for the year 2013 are expected to approximate 4.3 billion pounds of copper, 1.4 million ounces of gold and 90 million pounds of molybdenum, including 940 million pounds of copper, 230 thousand ounces of gold and 23 million pounds of molybdenum for first-quarter 2013.
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