Can KAZ Minerals Produce A Copper-Bottomed Half Year Update On Thursday?

The Kazakhstani company has had quite the 2017 so far. Admittedly the first few months of the year were a bit mixed. Having hit £6 in mid-February the stock quickly fell back, despite posting a 15% rise in annual revenue to $766 million alongside a huge jump in pre-tax profit, from $12 million to $220 million year-on-year.

From March to mid-June KAZ found itself trapped between £4.50 and £5, unable to break out either side. However, with copper surging to just shy of $3 per pound – the metal’s best price in more than 2 years – it began to rocket higher, eventually hitting a 3 and a half year peak of £7.52 on August 9th. Since then it has dipped slightly, with the US/North Korea tensions spooking commodity investors. KAZ Minerals PLC (LON:KAZ) now sits at a current trading price of £6.77 (Spreadex, 14/08/2017).

A bit chunk of its summer rise – roughly 8.5% in fact – stemmed from its Q2 and half year production report on July 27th. There the company revealed that in the first half of the year copper production more than doubled to 118,000 tonnes, largely thanks to predictions of an increase in demand from China, leaving it on track to meet its FY 225,000 to 260,000 tonnes guidance. Gold production was also healthy, rising from 40,000 ounces to 93,000 ounces.

In terms of Thursday’s HY statement, then, investors will be expecting some pretty robust revenue growth. Analysts are forecasting a huge increase from $305 million to $839 million year-on-year, with a similarly impressive jump in earnings, from $0.17 to $0.38 per share.

KAZ Minerals PLC has a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ alongside an average target price of £3.13.