By Mekhla Raina and Arundhati Sarkar
(Reuters) - Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd
A protracted tariff war between the United States and China and concerns of slower global growth have weakened prices of copper and other base metals.
The coronavirus outbreak is also expected to dampen demand in China, the world's biggest commodities consumer.
The integrated miner, which mines copper and zinc as well as coking coal, used to make steel, warned the outbreak will have a material effect on the demand and price of its commodities as well as on its suppliers. It did not immediately know the extent and duration of the impact.
Teck Resources said it reduced production and shut down its Neptune Bulk Terminals in British Columbia mainly because the virus had weakened demand for the short term. Weather is also a factor.
The company said production at its steelmaking coal operations fell 8.2% to 6.7 million tonnes. The average realized price for the commodity fell by 31%.
It reduced its steelmaking coal sales outlook to between 4.8 million tonnes and 5.2 million tonnes, down from its previous estimate of between 5.1 million tonnes and 5.4 million tonnes for the first quarter of 2020, citing weather-related rail and terminal disruptions in British Columbia.
The company also said it expects steelmaking coal production for the full-year 2020 to be between 23.0 million tonnes and 25.0 million tonnes.
The company said it took non-cash, impairment charges totaling C$999 million ($754.02 million) in the quarter, which included C$910 million related to its Fort Hills oil sands mining.
On an adjusted basis, income fell to C$122 million, or 22 Canadian cents per share, in the quarter ended on Dec. 31, from C$500 million, or 87 Canadian cents per share, in the previous year.
Copper production for the full year is expected to be between 285,000 to 300,000 tonnes, similar to 2019 production levels, the company said.
