CMOC Signals Copper Growth as Prices Lift Profit Outlook
Chinese miner forecasts up to 11% copper output growth while maintaining cobalt guidance after record production.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. CMOC Group Ltd (CMCLF) is positioning itself for another phase of copper-led growth as higher prices continue to support earnings momentum, while management keeps cobalt guidance steady after a record production year. In an exchange filing, the Henan-based miner outlined copper output guidance of 760,000 to 820,000 tons for this year, implying growth of up to 11% from last year, as the company looks to capitalize on market conditions that have turned increasingly supportive since late last year. Is CMCLF fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator.
Copper prices have moved to repeated record levels amid growing concern that supply could struggle to keep pace with demand tied to electrification, alongside ongoing needs from manufacturing and construction. CMOC said these price dynamics helped lift preliminary net income by about half to as much as 20.8 billion yuan last year. The company's outlook comes as larger domestic peer Zijin Mining Group is also pursuing expansion, with copper output targeted at 1.2 million tons as part of a broader push to grow China's mining capacity. On the cobalt side, CMOC maintained its production guidance at 100,000 to 120,000 tons this year after delivering record output of 117,549 tons in 2025 from its Democratic Republic of Congo operations.
That achievement came despite Congo's efforts to curb exports through a ban introduced in February and a new quota system starting in mid-October, measures aimed at addressing oversupply. CMOC, the world's largest cobalt miner, is expected to export 31,200 tons in 2026 in addition to quotas granted last year after delays, as cobalt hydroxide prices have climbed 345% since February and benchmark cobalt prices have more than doubled.