Glencore maintains full year production guidance apart from coal

Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN) further reduced guidance for coal production but reported improved production of copper, zinc, gold and silver in the third quarter of 2020.

Coal and nickel output lessened in the three months to end-September, as expected after production guidance was reduced at the half-year stage.

Coal guidance has been further adjusted after an extended strike over the intended cancellation, reduction or freezing of benefits at the Cerrejon opencast coal mine in Colombia, which is jointly owned with Anglo American and BHP.

Overall, chief executive Ivan Glasenberg called it a “solid” operating performance from the mining arm of the commodities trader, with full year production guidance otherwise maintained.

He said the ramp-up of the Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is still “on track” to achieve design capacity by year end.

“Our teams have adapted well to the numerous challenges presented by Covid-19,” Glasenberg said.

A detailed business update, including progress on climate change initiatives, will be provided within a full trading update on December 4.

Glencore shares fell 1.6% to 153.02p in early trade on Friday, where they are down by more than a third since the start of the year.