The German primary and secondary copper producer Aurubis recorded significant growth in turnover and earnings in the first quarter of its 2011/12 financial year which started on 1 October. According to the report published by the company on Tuesday, the increases were generated by the primary copper and the recycling / precious metals divisions, while the copper products division was impacted by declining sales volumes and posted a pre-tax operating loss.
Overall, the group's sales reached €3.15bn in the quarter ended 31 December 2011, an increase by 15 per cent compared with the same period one year before. Earnings before tax (EBT) jumped from €135m to €190m. The operating EBT stood at €86m, up from a loss of €21 in the year before resulting from negative extraordinary items.
The recycling / precious metals division contributed €27.1m to operating EBT, compared with a loss of €3.6m one year before. Turnover increased from €1.01bn to €1.20bn. "Higher refining charges in copper scrap processing and increasing input quantities of recycling materials led to positive contributions to earnings", the company reported.