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April 25 (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources Ltd TCKb.TO TECK.N , North America's largest producer of steelmaking coal, reported lower-than-expected profit due to higher costs, lower production and sales volumes.
Unit production costs in the first quarter rose by C$13 to C$56 per tonne from a year ago. First-quarter coal production was 6.1 million tonnes, 8 percent lower than last year, the company said on Tuesday.
Teck, which also mines gold and silver, said adjusted profit attributable to shareholders rose to C$671 million ($494.6 million), or C$1.16 per share, from C$18 million, or 3 Canadian cents a share, in the first quarter of 2016. rose 70 percent to C$2.89 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn C$1.29 per share, on revenue of C$3.04 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Teck said a quarterly benchmark price for steelmaking coal for the second quarter was not yet agreed upon due to cyclone Debbie's impact on Australian supply.
It expects total steelmaking coal sales, including spot sales, of at least 6.8 million tonnes in the second quarter. That is in line with last month's updated forecast. coal prices almost tripled from a year ago and spot prices stabilized in the $150 to $160 per tonne range during the quarter, while copper and zinc prices rose by 25 percent and 66 percent respectively, Teck said.
Steelmaking coal prices SCAFc1 have soared from about $156 a tonne at the end of March to more than $200 a tonne, amid supply disruptions caused by a powerful cyclone in Australia. plants use coking, or metallurgical, coal to fire blast furnaces.
Net profit attributable to shareholders jumped to C$572 million, or C$0.99 per share, for the quarter ending March 31, from C$94 million, or C$0.16 share, in the same period last year. ($1 = 1.3567 Canadian dollars)