U.S. producer Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) isn't planning a buying spree and will instead focus on organic growth, its chief executive said Monday.

"We're pursuing a strategy of looking to existing operations for growth, instead of acquisitions," Rochard Adkerson told the BMO Capital Markets conference in Florida. "We think this provides much better shareholder value than paying the cost of the premium paid for buying assets."

Freeport has the world's highest amount of recoverable copper reserves at its Grasberg complex in Indonesia. The company is the world's second biggest copper producer after Chile's Codelco, and plans 2010 sales of 3.8 billion pounds of copper.

"We plan to invest in attractive growth projects as economic conditions warrant," Adkerson said. "You'll see us take some steps to reduce debt... We're going to continue to focus on keeping our costs low as we return to growth projects in the future."

-By Andrea Hotter, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9413; andrea.hotter@dowjones.com
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2024 bis Jul 2024 Click Here for more Freeport McMoRan Charts.
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2023 bis Jul 2024 Click Here for more Freeport McMoRan Charts.