
Specifically, Thompson Creek's net income came to $61.6 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, up from a net loss of $19.2 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, consolidated revenues came to $248.4 million — as Pamela Saxon, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said during today's call, that's an 111-percent increase from Q2 2013. That sizeable jump was "driven by the addition of copper and gold revenue from Mt. Milligan mine and an increase in molybdenum sales," she noted. A higher average realized moly price also didn't hurt.
In terms of production, Thompson Creek put out 16 million pounds of copper, 37,030 ounces of gold and 7.5 million pounds of moly this past quarter. What's next? Perron explained in the call that Thompson Creek's main focus during Q2 "continued to be the execution of the Mt. Milligan ramp up," and it looks like that will be the case moving forward as well. He noted, "management's efforts are fully focused on optimizing the mill throughput, increasing the daily tonnage and working towards the design capacity of 60,000 tonnes per day." Debt reduction is also in the works. The company's total debt, including capital lease obligations, sat at $983.8 million as of June 30, 2014, down from $1,012.8 million at the end of 2013, and Perron said that having "taken [its] first step in [its] efforts to reduce [its] debt," Thompson Creek "will continue to investigate opportunities to strengthen [its] balance sheet." Finally, Thompson Creek has some decisions to make before the end of 2014. Responding to a conference call participant, Perron said the company is "evaluating the potential addition [it] can get from additional crushing [capacity] at Mt. Milligan" and will come to an understanding of what to do in that respect in Q4. A decision about what to do with the Thompson Creek mine is also coming. Though as noted the "current plan is to go into care and maintenance ... at the end of this year," the company is "working on other options and alternatives right now."Market reaction
The big question, of course, is how the market has reacted to Thompson Creek's results. In short, do investors believe that with Mt. Milligan finally approaching commercial production, a turnaround is nigh? Thus far, those watching the company seem to be responding with cautious optimism. TickerReport.com notes that Thompson Creek currently has a consensus rating of "hold" and a consensus price target of $2.53, while Seeking Alpha contributor Ben Kramer-Miller wrote today, "[though] Thompson Creek will be struggling with debt for some time unless metal prices rise I don't think it is at risk of bankruptcy, and it has a lot of upside potential, as the Q2 numbers demonstrate." The upshot, then, seems to be that, as Loughrey predicted two years ago, Mt. Milligan is an investment that will pay off. And while of course there are no guarantees, Thompson Creek's progress thus far indicates that the company has the tools for success. At close of day today, shares of Thompson Creek were selling for $3.02 each after jumping to $3.24 this morning. The company's 52-week high is $4.25, while its low is $1.84. Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. Thompson Creek Metals: Poised for a Turnaround? from Moly Investing News