Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd, beat analyst estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday as higher prices more than offset lower-than-expected sales volume of metallurgical coal.
The world’s second-biggest exporter of steelmaking coal stuck to its annual coal production forecast of 26 million tonnes to 27 million tonnes, but said the production is now expected to be near the lower end of the range.
Vancouver-based Teck, which also produces copper, zinc and bitumen, expects third-quarter coal sales to rise to 6.8 million tonnes from 6.6 million tonnes in the reported quarter.
The second-quarter coal sales volume slightly missed the company’s April 24 forecast of 6.7 million tonnes.
The company’s average realized price of steelmaking coal rose 9.6 per cent in the second quarter to $183 a tonne.
Teck said adjusted profit rose 12.6 per cent to $653-million, or $1.12 per share, in the three months to end June.
Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.07 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 6.5 per cent to $3.02-billion.
The company also appointed Dominic Barton as chairman as Norman Keevil retires from the role on Oct. 1, it said in a separate statement earlier on Wednesday.