Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said Thursday first-quarter net income dropped sharply due to lower milling tonnage, lower grade ore, higher expenses, lower copper prices and the absence of one-off items during the period.
Atlas said net income in the January-March period fell to P264 million from P1.22 billion in the same period last year while revenue declined 10 percent year-on-year to P4.93 billion.
While gold prices rose to an average $1,890 an ounce in the first quarter from $1,885 per ounce in the same period last year, the volume of shipments of the precious metal declined 13 percent to 5,549 ounces.
The price of copper, the main metal produced by Atlas Consolidated, dropped 11 percent on year to $4.05 a pound. Gross shipments of copper was down 9 percent to 19.7 million pounds.
The internally-generated cash allowed Atlas Consolidated to pay down $15 million in the first three months of the year.
