FCX Freeport McMoRan Inc

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. swung to a third-quarter loss on another big write-down tied to the company's struggling oil-and-gas operations.

The Phoenix company's shares fell 1.6% to $11.77 in recent premarket trading as the loss, excluding one-time items, was sharply wider than analysts had feared and revenue missed expectations.

The U.S.'s biggest miner and a major copper producer, also announced plans to further curtail copper and molybdenum production, including revised plans to suspend mining operations at its Miami mine in Arizona and cut production by half at it Tyrone mine in New Mexico and its Tyrone mine, also in Arizona.

Freeport-McMoRan recently said it would explore options for its troubled oil and gas business and cut the size of its board as it contends with tumbling commodity prices and a move on the company by activist investor Carl Icahn. Possible moves include a spinoff, joint-venture arrangements or further cost cuts.

Mr. Icahn first disclosed an 8.5% stake in Freeport in August, when the company announced it would slash 2016 capital spending by 29%, cut expected copper production by 150 million pounds, and eliminate about 10% of its U.S. workforce of roughly 15,600.

Overall, Freeport-McMoRan reported a loss of $3.8 billion, or $3.58 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $552 million, or 53 cents a share. Excluding net charges of $3.7 billion, the per-share loss was 15 cents.

Revenue decreased 35% to $3.68 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share loss of eight cents and revenue of $3.96 billion.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2015 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT)

Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2024 bis Jul 2024

Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2023 bis Jul 2024