MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Leading copper producer Codelco reported on Friday a 35% drop in pre-tax profit to $2.4 billion for the first half of 2022, dragged down by lower production and higher costs.
The Chilean state miner reported it produced 736,000 tonnes of copper between January and June, a 7.5% fall versus the first half of 2021.
The operation was "affected by a lower grade of ore in the Ministro Hales mine, along with lower processing rates and copper recovery in the Chuquicamata and El Teniente divisions," the firm said in a statement.
The company, which gives all its profit to the state, also said its direct cash costs rose 11.8% in the first half of the year to $1.51 per pound of copper, due to the "increase in the price of inputs" in the industry.
The company's revenues from copper sales fell 4.4% in the period compared to last year, with the price of copper seeing its biggest weekly fall in over 12 months in June.