Southern Copper profit drops

Lima
Southern Copper Corp said on Tuesday its net income dropped 12.6 percent drop in the first half of the year due to the slump in global metal prices, but it said it was well-positioned to weather the "temporary downturn".
The global mining company controlled by Grupo Mexico said first-half net income was $577.1 million compared with $660.6 million in the first half of last year.
"Even though the current economic scenario is affecting metal prices, we believe this is a temporary headwind that will eventually fade, making the strong copper market fundamentals prevail," said German Larrea, chairman of the Southern Copper board and Grupo Mexico chief executive officer.
Sales fell 6.5 percent to $2.658 billion compared with the same period in 2014 as a higher sales volume was unable to offset lower prices. Output rose 8.6 percent to 356,701 tonnes, the company said.