Boliden's earnings miss expectations as weakening dollar bites

By Agnieszka Olenska and Izabela Niemiec

(Reuters) -Boliden's operating earnings fell more than analysts had expected in the second quarter, the Swedish miner reported on Friday, as the weakening of the US dollar had a greater impact than anticipated.

Boliden's quarterly operating profit fell to 1.09 billion Swedish crowns ($112.11 million) on a reported basis, from 4.81 billion a year earlier. That missed the average forecast of 1.48 billion crowns from analysts polled by LSEG.

While the direct impact of U.S. tariffs is minimal, indirect effects are "very difficult to get a handle on," Chief Executive Mikael Staffas said in an interview, citing the US dollar depreciation.

He added, though, that the current volatile environment could over time be positive for the group, given that a lot of companies are cutting back on investing in mining, which could result in higher prices.

Metals sold by Boliden are priced in U.S. dollars, which means that when the dollar is weak the sales value of its products falls when converted back into Swedish crowns, Boliden's reporting currency.

The group's results were also affected by planned maintenance at its smelters. The company warned of a 500 million crown impact from the maintenance in 2025, including 400 million in the April-June period.

While the copper and zinc producer maintained its capital expenditure forecast for 2025 at 15.5 billion crown, it delayed its 2026 forecast update to early December to reflect all mines, including Somincor and Zinkgruvan, which it acquired last year from Lundin Mining.

Boliden's shares flattened at 0815 GMt after falling 5% at the open.

($1 = 9.7228 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Agnieszka Olenska and Izabela Niemiec in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)