Mining companies Atlas Consolidated and Development Corp. and Apex Mining Co Inc. faced challenges in the first quarter amid weak metal prices.
Atlas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it posted a net loss of P135 million in the first quarter, narrower than the P637-million net loss posted in the same period last year.
Atlas said despite the lower realized metal prices, consolidated revenues grew 27 percent to P3.4 billion from a year ago, on higher concentrate shipments in the first quarter.
Copper concentrate shipments increased 38 percent to 52,900 dry metric tons in the January-March period. Copper metal concentrates rose 38 percent to 31 million pounds, while gold content spiked 69 percent to 9,708 ounces.
Atlas said copper prices remained low, amid lingering concerns over China.
Average realized copper price in the first quarter went down by 19 percent to $2.10 per pound from $2.60/lb. In 2015, average realized gold price was relatively flat at $1,198/oz.
Atlas recently announced a plan to streamline operations to optimize cash flows while protecting its large mineral resources for the longer term.
Meanwhile, Apex Mining said first-quarter net income went down by 60 percent to P39 million from P100 million in the same period last year even as the company reported record production level at its Maco mine in Compostela Valley.
Apex Mining said revenue in the first quarter registered increased 17 percent to P775 million from P665 million in the same period last year.
Gold production hit 12,779 ounces, the highest recorded quarterly production to date, and higher by 11 percent than the same period in 2015, while silver production grew 18 percent to 61,085 ounces.
“We are encouraged by the recent positive movements in metal prices with gold reaching a high of $1,304 per ounce before settling at $1,273 per ounce as we make this report. The price of silver has similarly moved, reaching a high of $18 per ounce settling currently at $17 per ounce,” Apex Mining president and chief executive Walter Brown said.
“Should this uptrend continue and as we attain our goal of operating at 1,500 tons a day towards the middle of this year, we are confident that the company will be reporting significant net earnings growth for the whole year period of 2016,” Brown said.