Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold reports first-quarter loss, misses expectations

Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) on Thursday reported a first-quarter loss of $2.47 billion, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Phoenix-based company said it had a loss of $2.38 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 6 cents per share.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 4 cents per share.

The mining company posted revenue of $4.15 billion in the period, surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.02 billion.

Freeport-McMoran shares have decreased 12 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen slightly more than 2 percent. The stock has fallen 38 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FCX at http://www.zacks.com/ap/FCX

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Keywords: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold, Earnings Report