LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore (GLEN.L) on Wednesday reported a 17% decline in copper production for the first nine months of the year and tightened its 2025 guidance due to lower ore grades at some of its mines, although third-quarter output rose.
The miner and trader’s own-sourced copper production in the January to September period fell 17% to 583,500 metric tons from last year, while its own sourced cobalt output rose by 2,000 tons to 28,500 tons, the company said in a statement.
Glencore’s overall 2025 production outlook for copper, a metal needed for energy transition applications, was between 850,000 and 875,000 tons from a previous guidance of 850,000 to 890,000 tons.
It expects its full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the mid-point of its $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion range.
Its trading division, whose profit hit a record $6.4 billion in 2022, includes coal, oil, liquefied natural gas and related products, as well as metals.
The Swiss company is one of the largest producers and exporters of thermal coal, with an expected output of between 92 million and 97 million tons this year. It produced 73.5 million tons so far, compared to 73.1 million tons a year ago.
Its 2025 steelmaking coal production should be between 30 million and 35 million tons, after producing 24.7 million tons so far.
Glencore in May restructured its coal business by moving its recently acquired Canadian mines into a single unit run out of Australia, after walking back on plans to spin off the whole division.
(Reporting by Clara DeninaEditing by Bernadette Baum and Christian Schmollinger)
