Output Set to Rise for These 2 Copper Miners

Article Excerpt

AUR RESOURCES $21.60 (Toronto symbol AUR; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-362-2614; www.aurresources.com; Shares outstanding: 98.4 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion) mines mainly copper. It operates the open-pit Quebrada Blanca and Andacollo copper mines in northern Chile. Aur’s cash flow rose 48.5% in the three months ended December 31, 2006, to $107.4 million or $1.10 a share, from $72.3 million or $0.76 a share. (All figures except share price in U.S. dollars.) Aur now trades at 4.2 times its annual cash flow per share. Total debt stood at $93.8 million, or 14% of shareholders’ equity, at the end of December, 2006. The company also holds $630.3 million or $6.42 a share in cash ($7.58 Cdn.). Aur’s shares have a dividend yield of 0.5%. The company also paid a special dividend of $1 Cdn. a share in January, 2007. Aur is working to double its copper production over the next three years. It recently started production at its Duck Pond copper-zinc deposit in Newfoundland. The…