Mexican miner Penoles on Thursday reported a 65 percent drop in first-quarter net profit compared to the same period a year earlier, hit by higher financial costs on options it owned.
The miner and metals processor which runs the world's largest primary silver producer, Fresnillo, posted a profit 404 million pesos ($23 million).
Financial costs at Penelos more than tripled to 1.5 billion pesos, mostly due to losses on options it had bought, the company said.
Revenue rose 25 percent to 19.4 billion pesos as higher sales volumes and the stronger U.S. dollar against the Mexican peso, outweighed the effect of falls in metal prices, Penoles said.
The weaker peso gives the company a boost as it sells its metals in dollars.
The price of gold was more than three percent lower compared to the first quarter of 2015, while silver was 11 percent down, lead 3.5 percent and zinc and copper almost 20 percent, the company said in its statement to the stock exchange.
In the first quarter of 2015, Penoles made a profit of 1.17 billion pesos. ($1 = 17.29 pesos at end of March) (Reporting by Christine Murray; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Original Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/indust-penoles-results-idUSL2N17V1FH
