Ero Copper Reports Second Quarter 2025 Operating and Financial Results

Hamilton Spectator

a day ago

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ero Copper Corp. (TSX: ERO, NYSE: ERO) ('Ero' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce its operating and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. Management will host a conference call tomorrow, Friday, August 1, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the results. Dial-in details for the call can be found near the end of this press release.
HIGHLIGHTS
'We made meaningful progress towards the achievement of our 2025 strategy during the second quarter,'
said Makko DeFilippo, President and Chief Executive Officer.
'Highlights included the continued ramp-up and declaration of commercial production at Tucumã, the initiation of debt repayment, and the early completion of Phase 1 drilling at Furnas ahead of schedule. Operational performance across all of our assets improved in Q2 with record consolidated copper production, and we are encouraged by the momentum we are carrying into the second half of the year, driven by optimization and technology initiatives we executed in H1 2025.
'At Caraíba, focusing the mining fleet in the upper levels of the Pilar Mine paired with several ongoing operational excellence initiatives is proving to be a successful strategy. Our focus on technology, utilization and availability has resulted in improved overall fleet management and productivity, operational flexibility and a significant reduction in unplanned infrastructure downtime. At Surubim, scheduled pit sequencing led to higher mined tonnage, a trend we expect to continue in in the second half of the year. At Xavantina, our investments in mine mechanization, ventilation and technology support what we see as a step-change in mining rates, allowing production to return to annualized rates consistent with our longer-term outlook for the operation. And at Furnas, we remain focused on unlocking long-term value as we advance Phase 2 drilling with eight rigs active on site and remain on track to complete the program by year-end.'
SECOND QUARTER REVIEW
The Caraíba Operations
The Tucumã Operation
The Xavantina Operations
(*) These are non-IFRS measures and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and might not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. Please refer to the Company's discussion of Non-IFRS measures in its Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and the Reconciliation of Non- IFRS Measures section at the end of this press release.
(1) EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company, adjusted net income (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company, net (cash) debt, working capital, copper C1 cash cost, copper C1 cash cost including foreign exchange hedges, gold C1 cash cost and gold AISC are non-IFRS measures. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and might not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. Please refer to the Company's discussion of Non-IFRS measures in its Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and the Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures section at the end of this press release.
(2) Copper C1 cash cost including foreign exchange hedges was $2.06 in Q2 2025 (Q2 2024 - $2.16).
2025 PRODUCTION AND COST GUIDANCE
Consolidated copper production guidance for 2025 has been updated to 67,500 to 80,000 tonnes to reflect the slower-than-expected ramp up at the Tucumã Operation, which achieved commercial production on July 1, 2025. Consolidated copper production is expected to increase sequentially in H2 2025 driven by higher mill throughput at the Tucumã Operation and higher mined and processed volumes at the Caraíba Operations, particularly at Pilar and Surubim.
At the Xavantina Operations, gold production guidance has been updated to 40,000 to 50,000 ounces to reflect lower-than-expected production in H1 2025. The Company expects investments in mine modernization and mechanization to support sequential increases in mined and processed volumes through the remainder of the year.
Note: Guidance is based on estimates and assumptions including, but not limited to, mineral reserve estimates, grade and continuity of interpreted geological formations and metallurgical recovery performance. Please refer to the Company's SEDAR+ and EDGAR filings, including the most recent Annual Information Form ('AIF'), for a detailed summary of risk factors.
(1) Please refer to the section titled 'Alternative Performance (Non-IFRS) Measures' within the MD&A.
2025 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE GUIDANCE
Capital expenditure guidance remains unchanged at a range of $230 to $270 million, excluding capitalized ramp-up costs prior to the declaration of commercial production at the Tucumã Operation.
Figures presented in the table below are in USD millions.
Note: Guidance is based on certain estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to, mineral reserve estimates, grade and continuity of interpreted geological formations and metallurgical performance. Please refer to the Company's most recent Annual Information Form and Management of Risks and Uncertainties in the MD&A for complete risk factors.
(1) Excludes capitalized ramp-up costs prior to the declaration of commercial production at the Tucumã Operation.
CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS
The Company will hold a conference call on Friday, August 1, 2025 at 11:30 am Eastern time (8:30 am Pacific time) to discuss these results. A results presentation will be available for download via the webcast link and in the Presentations section of the Company's website on the day of the conference call.
Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
Financial results of the Company are presented in accordance with IFRS. The Company utilizes certain alternative performance (non-IFRS) measures to monitor its performance, including copper C1 cash cost, copper C1 cash cost including foreign exchange hedges, gold C1 cash cost, gold AISC, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income attributable to owners of the Company, adjusted net income per share, net (cash) debt, working capital and available liquidity. These performance measures have no standardized meaning prescribed within generally accepted accounting principles under IFRS and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other mining companies. These non-IFRS measures are intended to provide supplemental information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.
For additional details please refer to the Company's discussion of non-IFRS and other performance measures in its Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 which is available on SEDAR+ at
www.sedarplus.ca,
and on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov.
Copper C1 cash cost and copper C1 cash cost including foreign exchange hedges
The following table provides a reconciliation of copper C1 cash cost to cost of production, its most directly comparable IFRS measure.
(1) Copper C1 cash costs for 2025 and 2024 do not include Tucumã Operation's results, as commercial production has not been achieved as of June 30, 2025.
(1)Copper C1 cash costs for 2025 and 2024 do not include Tucumã Operation's results, as commercial production has not been achieved as of June 30, 2025.
Gold C1 cash cost and gold AISC
The following table provides a reconciliation of gold C1 cash cost and gold AISC to cost of production, its most directly comparable IFRS measure.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA
The following table provides a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income, its most directly comparable IFRS measure.
Adjusted net income attributable to owners of the Company and Adjusted net income per share attributable to owners of the Company
The following table provides a reconciliation of Adjusted net income attributable to owners of the Company and Adjusted EPS to net income attributable to the owners of the Company, its most directly comparable IFRS measure.
Net Debt (Cash)
The following table provides a calculation of net debt (cash) based on amounts presented in the Company's condensed consolidated interim financial statements as at the periods presented.
Working Capital and Available Liquidity
The following table provides a calculation for these based on amounts presented in the Company's condensed consolidated interim financial statements as at the periods presented.
ABOUT ERO COPPER CORP
Ero Copper is a high-margin, high-growth copper producer with operations in Brazil and corporate headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. The Company's primary asset is a 99.6% interest in the Brazilian copper mining company, Mineração Caraíba S.A. ('MCSA'), 100% owner of the Company's Caraíba Operations, which are located in the Curaçá Valley, Bahia State, Brazil, and the Tucumã Operation, an open pit copper mine located in Pará State, Brazil. The Company also owns 97.6% of NX Gold S.A. ('NX Gold') which owns the Xavantina Operations, an operating gold mine located in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. In July 2024, the Company signed a definitive earn-in agreement with Vale Base Metals for a 60% interest in the Furnas Copper-Gold Project, located in the Carajás Mineral Province in Pará State, Brazil. For more information on the earn-in agreement, please see the Company's press releases dated October 30, 2023 and July 22, 2024. Additional information on the Company and its operations, including technical reports on the Caraíba Operations, Xavantina Operations, Tucumã Operation and the Furnas Copper-Gold Project, can be found on the Company's website (
www.erocopper.com),
on SEDAR+ (
http://www.sedarplus.ca/landingpage/
and on EDGAR (
www.sec.gov).
The Company's shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'ERO'.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Farooq Hamed, VP, Investor Relations
[e-mail]
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION AND STATEMENTS
This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, 'forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as 'may', 'could', 'would', 'will', 'should', 'intend', 'target', 'plan', 'expect', 'budget', 'estimate', 'forecast', 'schedule', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'continue', 'potential', 'view' or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's expected development and mining rates, production, operating costs and capital expenditures at the Caraíba Operations, the Tucumã Operation and the Xavantina Operations; estimated timing for certain milestones, including the step change in mining rates at Xavantina in H2 2025; expectations related to exploration activities at the Furnas Project including the expected timing of the completion of the Phase 2 drill program by year-end 2025; and any other statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future plans, intentions, levels of activity, results, performance or achievements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, actions, events, conditions, performance or achievements to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks discussed in this press release and in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023 ('AIF') under the heading 'Risk Factors'. The risks discussed in this press release and in the AIF are not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, actions, events, conditions, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, actions, events, conditions, performance or achievements to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.
Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements involve statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and the Company's actual results, achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those referred to herein and in the AIF under the heading 'Risk Factors'.
The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, many of which may be difficult to predict and beyond the Company's control. In connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and in the AIF, the Company has made certain assumptions about, among other things: favourable equity and debt capital markets; the ability to raise any necessary additional capital on reasonable terms to advance the production, development and exploration of the Company's properties and assets; future prices of copper, gold and other metal prices; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of any mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; the geology of the Caraíba Operations, the Xavantina Operations, the Tucumã Operation and the Furnas Copper-Gold Project being as described in the respective technical report for each property; production costs; the accuracy of budgeted exploration, development and construction costs and expenditures; the price of other commodities such as fuel; future currency exchange rates, interest rates and tariff rates; operating conditions being favourable such that the Company is able to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner; work force continuing to remain healthy in the face of prevailing epidemics, pandemics or other health risks, political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third party approvals, licenses and permits on favourable terms; obtaining required renewals for existing approvals, licenses and permits on favourable terms; requirements under applicable laws; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital goods markets; availability of equipment; positive relations with local groups and the Company's ability to meet its obligations under its agreements with such groups; and satisfying the terms and conditions of the Company's current loan arrangements. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in forward- looking statements are reasonable as of the date of this press release, these assumptions are subject to significant business, social, economic, political, regulatory, competitive and other risks and uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that could cause actual actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Other events or circumstances could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated or projected and expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as and to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
CAUTIONARY NOTES REGARDING MINERAL RESOURCE AND MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATES
Unless otherwise indicated, all reserve and resource estimates included in this press release and the documents incorporated by reference herein have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101,
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
('NI 43-101') and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the 'CIM') — CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended (the 'CIM Standards'). NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), and reserve and resource information included herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this press release and the documents incorporated by reference herein use the terms 'measured resources,' 'indicated resources' and 'inferred resources' as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards.
Further to recent amendments, mineral property disclosure requirements in the United States (the 'U.S. Rules') are governed by subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'U.S. Securities Act') which differ from the CIM Standards. As a foreign private issuer that is eligible to file reports with the SEC pursuant to the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system (the 'MJDS'), Ero is not required to provide disclosure on its mineral properties under the U.S. Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards. If Ero ceases to be a foreign private issuer or loses its eligibility to file its annual report on Form 40-F pursuant to the MJDS, then Ero will be subject to the U.S. Rules, which differ from the requirements of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards.
Pursuant to the new U.S. Rules, the SEC recognizes estimates of 'measured mineral resources', 'indicated mineral resources' and 'inferred mineral resources'. In addition, the definitions of 'proven mineral reserves' and 'probable mineral reserves' under the U.S. Rules are now 'substantially similar' to the corresponding standards under NI 43-101. Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of uncertainty as to its existence and feasibility than mineralization that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources, or inferred mineral resources that Ero reports are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, 'inferred mineral resources' have a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of 'inferred mineral resources' may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. While the above terms under the U.S. Rules are 'substantially similar' to the standards under NI 43-101 and CIM Standards, there are differences in the definitions under the U.S. Rules and CIM Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral reserves or mineral resources that Ero may report as 'proven mineral reserves', 'probable mineral reserves', 'measured mineral resources', 'indicated mineral resources' and 'inferred mineral resources' under NI 43-101 would be the same had Ero prepared the reserve or resource estimates under the standards adopted under the U.S. Rules.