Vancouver, BC – Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (“Teck”) reported adjusted profit attributable to shareholders of $753 million ($1.31 per share) in the first quarter compared with $655 million ($1.13 per share) in 2017.
“Prices for our key commodities remained strong resulting in another good quarter for us, with adjusted earnings of $753 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion,” said Don Lindsay, President and CEO. “Our operations performed well during the quarter and we’re pleased that Fort Hills achieved first oil and is ramping up to full capacity as expected.”
Highlights and Significant Items
- Profit attributable to shareholders was $759 million ($1.32 per share) in the first quarter compared with $556 million ($0.96 per share) a year ago. Adjusted profit was $753 million ($1.31 per share) in the first quarter compared with $655 million ($1.13 per share) in the first quarter of last year.
- EBITDA was $1.6 billion in the first quarter compared with $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017. Our adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter totaled $1.6 billion compared with $1.5 billion last year.
- Gross profit was $1.4 billion in the first quarter compared with $1.2 billion a year ago. Gross profit before depreciation and amortization was $1.7 billion in the first quarter compared with $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2017.
- Fort Hills produced its first oil from the first of its three secondary extraction trains on January 27 followed by the second train on March 23. All systems relating to the first two trains are running well and plant start-up has exceeded expectations.
- Production and sales volumes at our steelmaking coal operations were negatively affected in the first quarter by logistical issues at Westshore Terminals. Orders from customers were in place to exceed our original sales guidance of 6.3 to 6.5 million tonnes. Clean coal stockpiles at mines reached high levels, forcing some plants to idle, consequently affecting production.
- We repurchased $58 million of Class B subordinate voting shares, completing our previously announced $230 million share repurchase program and paid our regular base quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, which totaled $29 million.
- On April 18, 2018, Moody’s upgraded our corporate rating one notch to Ba1 with a stable outlook. S&P and Fitch rate us at BB+, with a stable outlook from S&P and a positive outlook from Fitch.
- In early April, we acquired an additional 13.5% indirect interest in the company that owns the Quebrada Blanca property, bringing our interest to 90%. Quebrada Blanca’s principal asset is the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) copper project, which is in the final stages of permitting. This acquisition simplifies the ownership and capital structure of QB2 and gives us flexibility with respect to financing options for the project.
- Our liquidity remains strong at over $5.1 billion inclusive of $1.3 billion in cash at April 23, 2018 and US$3.0 billion of undrawn, committed credit facilities. In addition, we only have US$220 million of debt due before 2022.
- A Prefeasibility Study was completed on the NuevaUnión project, confirming the combination and phased development approach of Teck and Goldcorp's previously separate Relincho and La Fortuna (formerly El Morro) projects. This has the potential to be an attractive long-life asset with very low unit costs in the initial years.
- There has been no change to our 2018 Guidance, except updated capital spending for our QB2 project. Further details are on pages 29 to 31.
Download/view Q1 2018 Report for the full text of this release.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively referred to in this news release as “forward-looking statements”). All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Teck to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements, including under the headings “Outlook,” that appear in various places in this release, include estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management’s expectations with respect to, among other things, anticipated global and regional supply and demand for our commodities, production, sales and unit cost guidance and forecasts for our products and individual operations, capital expenditure guidance, mine lives and duration of operations at our various mines and operations, the statement that Fort Hills production is expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2018, expectations that Fort Hills will be recorded in profit and loss and be available for full operation during the second quarter, our expectation that coal production volumes can be adjusted to reflect market demand, the amount of planned 2018 capital spending relating to the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, amount and timing of anticipated spending at Neptune Bulk Terminals and timing of completion of the project, Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 mine life and production capacity projections, the results of the NuevaUnión Prefeasibility Study, including all forecast mineral reserve and resource, economic, operating and production projections and expectations for future performance, expected spending and activities on our Project Satellite properties, statement that steps taken have helped insulate our company from price volatility in our industry, the expectation that there is potential to extend the Pend Oreille mine life, impact of certain accounting initiatives and estimates, all guidance appearing in this presentation including but not limited to the production, sales, unit cost and capital expenditure guidance under the heading “Guidance”, the impact of currency exchange rates, and demand and market outlook for commodities and our products. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially.
These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of, zinc, copper and steelmaking coal and other primary metals and minerals as well as oil, and related products, the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for our development projects and other operations, our costs of production and production and productivity levels, as well as those of our competitors, power prices, continuing availability of water and power resources for our operations, market competition, the accuracy of our reserve estimates (including with respect to size, grade and recoverability) and the geological, operational and price assumptions on which these are based, conditions in financial markets, the future financial performance of the company, our ability to attract and retain skilled staff, our ability to procure equipment and operating supplies, positive results from the studies on our expansion projects, our steelmaking coal and other product inventories, our ability to secure adequate transportation, including rail and port service, for our products, assumptions that rail and port services perform adequately, our ability to obtain permits for our operations and expansions, and our ongoing relations with our employees and business partners and joint venturers. Assumptions regarding the NuevaUnión project are based on the current assumptions in the Prefeasibility Study, certain of which are set out in the discussion of the project and footnotes to the related tables. Assumptions regarding Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 are based on current project assumptions and the final Feasibility Study. Assumptions regarding Fort Hills are based on the approved project development plan and the assumption that the project will be developed and operated in accordance with that plan, assumptions regarding the performance of the plant and other facilities at Fort Hills and the operation of the project. Our Guidance tables include footnotes with further assumptions. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Events or circumstances could cause actual results to vary materially.
Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in market demand for our products, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, acts of foreign governments and the outcome of legal proceedings, inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources), unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, adverse weather conditions and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), union labour disputes, political risk, social unrest, failure of customers or counterparties (including logistics suppliers) to perform their contractual obligations, changes in our credit ratings, unanticipated increases in costs to construct our development projects, difficulty in obtaining permits, inability to address concerns regarding permits of environmental impact assessments, and changes or further deterioration in general economic conditions. Our Fort Hills project is not controlled by us and construction and production schedules and costs may be adjusted by our partners, and timing of spending and construction is not in our control. Our Board might not approve further spending on the Neptune Bulk Terminals project at the levels presented in this release. The forecast NuevaUnión mineral reserve and resource, economic, operating and production projections and expectations for future performance are based on a Prefeasibility Study, which is an earlier stage study that has a lower confidence level than a Feasibility Study. The results of the Feasibility Study on the project may differ significantly.
Statements concerning future production costs or volumes are based on numerous assumptions of management regarding operating matters and on assumptions that demand for products develops as anticipated, that customers and other counterparties perform their contractual obligations, that operating and capital plans will not be disrupted by issues such as mechanical failure, unavailability of parts and supplies, labour disturbances, interruption in transportation or utilities, adverse weather conditions, and that there are no material unanticipated variations in the cost of energy or supplies. Statements regarding anticipated steelmaking coal sales volumes and average steelmaking coal prices depend on timely arrival of vessels and performance of our steelmaking coal-loading facilities, as well as the level of spot pricing sales.
We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under securities laws. Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and our business can be found in our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F, as well as subsequent filings that can also be found under our profile.
Scientific and technical information regarding our material mining projects in this quarterly report was approved by Mr. Rodrigo Alves Marinho, P.Geo., an employee of Teck. Mr. Marinho is a qualified person, as defined under National Instrument (NI) 43-101.
WEBCAST
Teck will host an Investor Conference Call to discuss its Q1/2018 financial results at 11:00 AM Eastern time, 8:00 AM Pacific time, on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available at our website at www.teck.com. The webcast will be archived at www.teck.com.
Download/view Q1 2018 Report for the full text of this release.
Investor Contact:
Fraser Phillips
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Strategic Analysis
604.699.4621
fraser.phillips@teck.com
Media Contact:
Marcia Smith
Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs
604.699.4616
marcia.smith@teck.com
18-17-TR
