VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Higher copper and zinc prices and improved copper sales volumes that were driven by higher output, have contributed to lift Canada’s largest diversified miner’s first-quarter profit by 15%, the company announced on Tuesday.

Adjusted profit attributable to shareholders, which typically excludes special items during a period, was $753-million, or $1.31 a share, compared with $655-million, or C$1.13 a share, in the comparable quarter a year earlier. This was a miss when compared with average Bay Street analyst estimates calling for quarterly earnings of C$1.34 a share, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Net profit attributable to shareholders in the quarter was C$759-million, or $1.32 a share, compared with $556-million, or $0.96 a share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenues for the period rose 8.6% to C$3.09-billion.

Teck advised that its steelmaking coal sales volume rose 7% year-on-year to 6.1-million tonnes, up from 5.7-million tonnes a year earlier. However, the average quarterly realised price fell to $207/t, from $212/t a year ago. Teck said sales volumes were roughly in line with its reduced guidance of six-million tonnes in early March, owing to logistical issues at Westshore Terminals, in British Columbia.

Teck pointed out that orders from customers were in place to exceed its original sales guidance of 6.3-million to 6.5-million tonnes, but owing to the logistical issues, clean coal stockpiles at mines reached high levels, forcing some plants to idle and thus affecting production.

Plans are in place to recover the lost production of about 200 000 t of steelmaking coal from the January pressure event that interrupted operations in the coal dryer at Elkview operations, in British Columbia. The company is coordinating production among its operations in the Elk Valley to meet steelmaking coal production guidance of 26-million to 27-million tonnes.

Teck expects current-quarter sales volume of about 6.7-million tonnes subject to its logistics chain continuing to improve. The company noted that with steel pricing and world economies remaining strong, it believes demand for steelmaking coal will keep growing, with supply issues continuing to support prices.

Copper production in the first quarter increased by 16% from a year ago to 74 000 t, mainly owing to higher ore grades at Highland Valley Copper. Cash unit costs in the first quarter before by-products decreased by 9% to $1.70/lb, compared with $1.86/lb during the same period a year earlier, because of significantly lower grades affecting output in the first half of 2017.

Teck forecasts 2018 copper output to be in the range of 270 000 t to 285 000 t and full-year copper unit costs to be in the range of $1.80/lb to $1.90/lb, before margins from by-products, and $1.35/lb to $1.45/lb after by-products based on current production plans, by-product prices and exchange rates, the company advised.

Zinc-in-concentrate output rose 5.26% to 140 000 t, with refined production up marginally at 77 000 t.

Meanwhile, the Fort Hills oil sands project, in Alberta, in which it holds a 21.3% stake with partners Suncor Energy and Total, achieved first oil on January 27, and the operation is now producing oil from the first of its three secondary extraction trains. A second production train was started up on March 23. The company reported that plant start-up has exceeded expectations, and Fort Hills produced five-million barrels of bitumen in the first quarter, including the froth used for commissioning.

The last secondary extraction train and the last solvent recovery unit are scheduled to be completed and commissioned before July and the operation is expected to reach full capacity by the end of the year. Teck has guided for attributable bitumen output of between 7.5-million to 9-million barrels for this year.

The company’s TSX-listed equity fell as much as 3.5% on Tuesday to C$32.04 apiece, amid a broad market sell off during the afternoon session, which saw the metals and mining segment trending down about 3% for the day.