The copper concern Aurubis raised its revenues in its Recycling/Precious Metals business unit by 10 per cent to €2.52bn in the first six months of the 2011/12 financial year. The segment's earnings before tax came in at €59.9m, around €40.4m above the prior year's earnings, which had been adversely impacted by extraordinary items, the group announced late last week.
Higher refining charges for copper scrap, increased throughput of complex raw materials and good metal yield were responsible for the improved financial results, said Aurubis. The supply of recycling materials to the concern's plants had been good in the first half.
Taken together, the growth registered by the Recycling/Precious Metals and Primary Copper business units were enough to more than make up for the weaker performance of the Copper Products segment, Aurubis added. The concern's consolidated revenues climbed 5 per cent in the first half of fiscal year 2011/12 to reach €6.80bn. Net earnings fell, however, dropping from €258m in the prior-year period to €247m.