Freeport-McMoRan Swings To 4Q Loss; Cuts Copper Sales View

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) swung to a fourth-quarter net loss as it wrote down $13.1 billion in inventory and assets related to its 2007 acquisition of Phelps Dodge.

The world's largest publicly traded copper-mining company by output, which is suffering from plunging commodity prices, also said it would further reduce its output at its North American operations.

Freeport posted a net loss of $13.9 billion, or $36.78 a share, compared with net income of $414 million, or $1.05 a share, a year earlier.

The latest period included charges of $34.51 a share mainly for write-downs of assets related to the Phelps Dodge deal. Excluding items, earnings came to 6 cents a share.

Revenue plunged 51% to $2.07 billion, amid a sharp decline in copper and molybdenum prices.

Analysts, according to Thomson Reuters, were expecting a loss, excluding items, of $1.12 a share, on revenue of $2.84 billion.

Freeport, like other miners, has been hurt by copper futures' tumble from record highs last spring as the global economy continued to weaken. In December, it slashed its capital-spending budget in half and suspended its dividend. The company doesn't see a big turnaround any time soon, as it recently cut sales projections for the next two years.

Monday, it said copper sales now are expected to reach 3.9 billion pounds in 2009 and 3.8 billion in 2010, down 9% and 17%, respectively, from its October forecast. Molybdenum sales are expected to be 60 million pounds in both 2009 and 2010, down 25% and 40% from the October view. Gold sales won't be affected by the revised forecast and are expected to reach 2.2 million ounces in both 2009 and 2010.

In the quarter, copper output rose 28%, while gold production more than doubled and molybdenum fell 5.9%. The average realized price of copper plunged 52% to $1.55 per pound.

In recent premarket trading, Freeport-McMoRan shares were down 2.3% at $22.28.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658; [e-mail]

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