• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 04 / 27 / 2011

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Mainly thanks to rising nickel and oil prices, Canadian mining and energy concern Sherritt International reported a 116-percent rise in profit on a 29-5-percent increase in revenues in the first quarter.

Sherritt is Cuba’s single largest private foreign investor and a main driver of nickel export revenues.

Nickel sales by volume stagnated around 9.4 million pounds, but average realized prices rose from $9.20 per pound in Q1 2010 to $11.73 this quarter. Meanwhile, cobalt sales by volume rose from 907,000 pounds to 1.014 million pounds, but prices per pound dropped from $20.16 to $17.55.

Electricity sales of Sherritt’s Energas power plants in Cuba dropped 14 percent, from 172 gigawatt-hours to 148 gw/h. The company blamed turbine and rotor failures at the Boca de Jaruco facility and “intermittent gas supply shortages” at the Varadero power plant.

Total revenues were $474.5 million for the quarter, up from S366.4 million in the same quarter last year. Net income rose to $63.6 million, from $29.4 million.

Source: www.cubastandard.com/2011/04/27/sherritt-profits-rise-despite-flat-nicke...