Freeport-McMoRan's Stock Drops After Profit Miss, Capex Cut

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan slid 3.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the mining company reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit that missed expectations, and said it was taking aggressive action to defer capital expenditures as it combats the sharp drop in commodities prices. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company swung to a net loss of $2.9 billion, or $2.75 a share, from a profit of $707 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted per-share earnings were 25 cents a share, below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 35 cents. Copper sales fell to 972 million pounds from 1.14 billion pounds, while gold sales declined to 377,000 ounces from 512,000 ounces. The company said it was seeking third-party funding for a significant portion of its oil and gas expenditures "to maintain financial strength and flexibility" in response to the recent drop in oil prices. The company also said that for 2015, it was cutting capital expenditures, exploration and other costs by $2 billion. The stock has tumbled 35% over the past three months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.9%.