Teck Resources Ltd. is reporting a first-quarter loss attributable to shareholders of $312 million as it takes a $474-million writedown on its share in the Fort Hills oilsands mine.
The Vancouver-based miner’s loss in the three months ended March 31 compares with a profit of $630 million in the same period of 2018.
The company reported an adjusted profit of $94 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with $587 million, or $1.03 per share a year earlier.
Analysts had been expecting an adjusted profit of 20 cents per share. Teck shares fell by as much as 8.7 per cent to $9.66 in early trading before rebounding to $10.09, down 4.6 per cent, at 11 a.m. EDT.
In late March, the partners in Fort Hills elected to take offline one of its two oilsands mining production trains due to low oil prices. Teck owns a 21.3 per cent stake.
The company reported a strong finish to the first quarter resulted in sales of 5.7 million tonnes of steelmaking coal, beating the upper end of its guidance at 5.2 million tonnes.
CEO Don Lindsay said Teck’s current focus is on managing risks around the current coronavirus pandemic.
“The pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the global economy and commodity markets and the outlook is uncertain,” he said.
“However, almost all of our sites are currently operating, with some at reduced production.”
