South32 Ltd (LSE:S32, ASX:S32, OTC:SHTLF, JSE:S32) saw its shares fall on Monday as the miner cautioned that although it remains on track to meet full-year 2023 production guidance at the majority of its operations, group production was below plan in the March 2023 quarter due to adverse weather and other temporary impacts.
The company said that group copper equivalent production has increased by 7% in the year-to-date, as its recent investments delivered strong growth in copper and low-carbon aluminium, and Australia Manganese achieved record production.
It noted that improved market conditions supported higher prices across most of its commodities quarter-on-quarter, with strong price realisations for its premium hard coking coal and manganese products.
In the quarterly report, South32 chief executive officer Graham Kerr commented: "We remain well positioned to capitalise on improved market conditions, with higher production volumes expected to finish the 2023 financial year and operating unit cost and capital expenditure guidance held largely unchanged.
"We continue to reshape our portfolio towards commodities critical to a low-carbon future, progressing construction and development studies at Hermosa and adding the prospective Chita Valley copper project to our portfolio of greenfield options."
In early morning trade, South32 shares were down 5.9% at 222.50p.