Glencore posts 30% drop in first-quarter copper production

LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore on Wednesday reported lower copper production in the first quarter, and said it expects 2025 profit at its trading division to be in the middle of its long-term annual guidance.

The miner and trader reported a 30% drop in first-quarter copper production to 167,900 metric tons, but maintained its full-year forecast for 2025 at 850,000-910,000 tons, expecting higher output in coming months.

Last year it produced around 952,000 tons of the metal used in electric vehicle wiring and batteries, green energy plants and data centres.

Glencore's share price opened 3.4% lower in London.

Worries about global trade tensions have weighed on prices of most industrial metals this year, but analysts anticipate growing demand for copper, cobalt and other transition minerals, driven by the shift towards electric vehicles and renewable infrastructure.

First-quarter production of cobalt rose 44% on higher grades and volumes at its Mutanda mine, while nickel production fell 21%, it said. The company kept 2025 production guidance unchanged for both.

Glencore forecasts full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the middle of its long-term guidance of $2.2 billion-$3.2 billion this year, compared to $3.2 billion in 2024, as commodities markets continue to fluctuate due to "U.S. tariff newsflow and uncertainty".

"Owing to the various proposed and currently being implemented tariffs across commodity supply chains, it is likely that some physical trade flow re-orientation and dislocation will manifest over the coming months," it said in a statement.

The trading division, whose profit hit a record $6.4 billion in 2022, includes coal, oil, liquefied natural gas and related products, as well as metals.

"Disappointing that in these volatile times with significant regional arbitrage in copper that marketing guidance was not at the top end of the range," RBC Capital Markets analysts said.

Glencore's first-quarter thermal coal production fell 7% to 23.4 million tons from 25.2 million tons a year before on lower output from its Australian mines.

The company is one of the largest producers and exporters of thermal coal, mining 99.6 million tons in 2024.

It said in March it would begin reducing production at its Colombia mine Cerrejon by between 5 million and 10 million tons annually.

(Reporting by Clara Denina, Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Jan Harvey)