Freeport earnings seen falling on production issues: Report

New Orleans-based miner Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc is expected to report a sharp drop in third-quarter profit early Tuesday, due largely to production weakness at sites that required rebuilding in Indonesia and Spain, MarketWatch.com reported Friday.

According to a consensus of Thomson First Call analysts, Freeport should have earnings of 13 cents per share, which would represent a steep decline from the 54 cents a share the company earned a year earlier.

First Call projects revenue of $594 million for Freeport, which had revenue of about $669 million in the third quarter of 2003.

Bradford Research metals analyst Charles Bradford said the company earlier in the year restored production at an Indonesian mine that suffered two serious slides in 2003 and at a Spanish smelter taken offline during the second quarter.

However, the two plants' output levels lagged somewhat during the third quarter, because it takes months to restore full production and shipping and sales operations, he added.

Bradford's projects Freeport to earn 10 cents a share in the third quarter. (*)