Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)

[Picassa]

Freeport-McMoRan beats by $0.42, beats on revs (FCX) 83.52 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $2.15 per share, $0.42 better than the First Call consensus of $1.73; revenues rose 123.0% year/year to $4.61 bln vs the $4.22 bln consensus. Projected sales volumes for 2010 approximate 3.8 billion pounds of copper, 1.8 million ounces of gold and 60 million pounds of molybdenum, including 890 million pounds of copper, 490 thousand ounces of gold and 15 million pounds of molybdenum in the first quarter of 2010. The sequencing in mining areas with varying ore grades, primarily at Grasberg, causes fluctuations in the timing of ore production, and is expected to result in fluctuations in quarterly sales of copper and gold in 2010. The achievement of FCX's sales estimates will be dependent on the achievement of targeted mining rates, the successful operation of production facilities, the impact of weather conditions and other factors.