Europe’s leading refined copper producer, fabricator and multi-metals recycler has posted its operational and financial results for the nine-month period to 30 June 2024.

Aurubis reported stable revenues of €12.9Bn, and a 30% yoy increase in Earnings Before Tax of €333M compared to €257M in the prior year period. Bottom line financial returns in the previous year were materially affected by industrial fraud. The group reported total cathode output of 838kt, broadly unchanged from a year ago (841kt). Wire rod production eased 1% lower y-o-y to 683kt from 693kt, while the combined output of copper refinery shapes, flat rolled products and specialty wire fell 4% y-o-y to 234kt from 244kt in the first nine months of FY2022/2023.  

Concentrate throughput at the group’s smelters rose 2% to 1,741kt from 1,705kt. Inputs of copper scrap and blister copper were almost unchanged at 538kt (536kt), while inputs of other recycled materials declined 2% y-o-y to 411kt from 419kt a year earlier. 

Aurubis is making further steady progress with several strategic investments to create value in the future, funded by substantial ongoing capital expenditures, marked several major milestones during this timeframe: 

+ From May-July 2024, the company successfully completed the largest maintenance shutdown of the Hamburg site. 

+ CAPEX increased by 49% y-o-y to €556M, compared to €374M in the same period of the previous FY, to support the more aggressive strategic project rollout. 

+ Included amongst the €1.7Bn pipeline of investments approved by the board, are a new precious metals refinery at the Hamburg site, €740M for the two-phase expansion of the new Richmond smelter in the USA (phase I opens in Q4 2024, phase II in 2026, with a total capacity of 70kt of blister copper), a 50% expansion to 340kt of the refinery tankhouse capacity at the Pirdop site in Bulgaria to be operational by H2 2026, and a 10% increase in the Lunen refinery tankhouse capacity to 210kt, among many others.

These investments are expected to generate an extra EBITDA contribution of €260M per year in the next 3-5 years.