Molycorp’s quarterly results show gain from year ago
Mining company Molycorp's fourth-quarter results marked a huge gain from a year ago but a decline from the third quarter.
The company had net income of $26.6 million, or 26 cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $7.9 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales in the quarter rose sixfold to $132.9 million compared with 2010, as the company resumed mining and stepped up sales of the reserves of rare-earth ores it had on hand.
When certain items that management termed extraordinary were removed from the calculation, Molycorp's fourth-quarter earnings ran 41 cents a share, matching the consensus estimate of seven analysts polled by Yahoo Finance.
The stock fell 9 cents a share in after-hours trading to $29.
The plunging prices of rare earths, metals used in tiny quantities in everything from smartphones to hybrid cars to guided bombs, have raised warning signals among analysts. As a result, Molycorp's stock price has fallen from $64.53 Aug. 1.
Molycorp CEO Mark Smith acknowledged that prices have been on a roller coaster, but he said prices would rebound over the long term.
Molycorp's main mine is in Mountain Pass, Calif., about 15 miles south of Primm.
Contact Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
