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London - Glencore’s [JSE:GLN] production of copper, coal and zinc fell in the second quarter after the commodities trader closed mines in response to a rout in prices that’s eroded profits.
Zinc output slid 33% to 249 400 metric tonnes in the second quarter from a year earlier, the Baar, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Thursday.
Copper production declined 3% to 368 000 tonnes and coal output dropped 12% to 29.1 million tonnes.
A slump in metal, coal and iron-ore prices has forced miners around the world to shutter unprofitable operations.
Billionaire chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg has engineered a turnaround plan at Glencore by selling assets, reining in spending and cutting costs to help cut its debt which stood at about $30bn at the start of last year.
The stock has more than doubled in London this year after ending 2015 as the second-worst performer in the FTSE 100 Index.
The company’s shares were little changed at 195.1 pence by 8:09 a.m. in London.
Nickel output gained 18% to 29 500 tonnes in the period while lead production rose 6% 74 300 tonnes.
The company increased its full-year estimate for copper output by about 20 000 tonnes to about 1.4 million tonnes due to a strong performance from its Collahuasi mine. It trimmed its coal prediction by 5 million tonnes to about 125 million tonnes.
Its oil-production forecast was lowered by 200 000 barrels to about 8 million barrels after reducing output in Chad because of reduced prices.
Glencore has previously said it will reduce copper output by about 7.5% this year and cut zinc supply by a quarter as it adopted a "disciplined approach" during periods of low prices.
Peter Grauer, the chairperson of Bloomberg, the parent of Bloomberg News, is a senior independent non-executive director at Glencore.
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