© Reuters. FIILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore on Friday reported lower , zinc and nickel production in the first quarter but said it expects its trading division to exceed the top end of annual guidance.
The miner and trader, which is pursuing a takeover bid for Canada’s Teck Resources (NYSE:), left overall 2023 guidance for copper unchanged at 1.04 million tonnes, even as production fell by 5% to 244,100 tonnes in the first quarter, owing to lower grades and delays at some of its mines.
Unlike its rivals, Glencore (OTC:) mines thermal coal – used to generate electricity – and has a trading division that includes oil, LNG and related products in addition to metals operations that registered record profit of $6.4 billion in 2022, up 73% from the previous year.
It now expects full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to exceed the top end of its annual range between $2.2 billion and $3.2 billion in 2023.
Glencore last month made a $22.5 billion takeover offer for Teck, which was rejected by the Vancouver-based miner’s board as exposing its shareholders to thermal coal and energy trading. The bid included a proposed spinning out of thermal and steelmaking coal operations, rebranding the remaining company as GlenTeck.
The all-share offer came as Teck’s own plan to spin off its metallurgical coal business and focus on copper and zinc nears an April 26 vote.
