Molycorp revenues triple, loss widens in first quarter

Rare-earth mining company Molycorp more than tripled its sales but produced a wider loss during the first quarter, the company reported Thursday.

The revenues of $84.5 million marked a 221 percent increase from the same period in 2011, as the rare-earth pit mine at Mountain Pass, Calif., restarted fresh ore production after years of hibernation. In addition, the company included the results of acquisitions.

The net loss ran $3.5 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with $2.2 million, or 4 cents per share.

The average estimate of the six analysts polled by Yahoo Finance had predicted a 13 cents per share profit for the quarter on $116 million in revenue. The company's stock dropped $1 a share, or 3.9 percent to $24.43, in after-hours trading.

CEO Mark Smith said the first quarter is generally slowest in the rare-earth industry because of the Chinese New Year. Much of the manufacture of products using rare earth, notably industrial magnets that can be made lighter and more powerful because of the inclusion of rare earths, takes place in China.

Revenues at Mountain Pass, about 15 miles south of Primm, ran $46.3 million, with a pre-tax loss of $8.4 million. No numbers were available from last year. The mine employs 1,850 people, many of whom commute from Las Vegas.