Surging copper prices lift Teck Resources quarterly earnings, but fuel costs a risk

Colin Cieszynski, portfolio manager and chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook on the markets.

VANCOUVER — Teck Resources Ltd. says record copper sales and strong commodity prices helped lift its first-quarter profit, but the war in the Middle East is resulting in higher fuel costs and supply chain risks, particularly at its operations in Chile.

The Vancouver-based miner, which continues to work toward a combination with global mining giant Anglo American PLC, says copper prices were 38 per cent higher year-over-year during the three-month period ended March 31 at an average of US$5.83 a pound.

Production of the metal increased to 140,000 tonnes, up from 106,100 tonnes a year earlier.

“We delivered a very strong start to the year with robust financial results reflecting both disciplined execution across our operations and the cash flow generation potential of our portfolio,” chief executive Jonathan Price told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

Teck’s first-quarter profit more than doubled compared with a year earlier. Earnings attributable to shareholders were $819 million, or $1.67 per diluted share, up from $370 million, or 73 cents per diluted share, in the same 2025 quarter.

On an adjusted basis, Teck earned $1.75 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from 60 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $3.94 billion, up from $2.29 billion.

Teck is feeling the knock-on effects of the oil supply shock triggered by the war embroiling much of the Middle East. Roughly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil supply normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Traffic through the channel has been halted since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in late February, sending energy prices soaring.

Chief financial officer Crystal Prystai said the inflationary and supply chain risks are mainly tied to diesel that needs to be imported into Chile, where Teck produces copper at the Quebrada Blanca mine high in the Andes, as well as copper and gold at Carmen de Andacollo.

“This inflationary risk to cost needs to be seen in the context of the material benefit on our unit costs from additional byproduct revenue, which currently more than offsets the impact of higher diesel prices,” Prystai told analysts.

Teck and Anglo American revealed a plan to join up in a “merger of equals” in September of last year. Price said the deal is on-track to close 12 to 18 months from that announcement. It has shareholder and Canadian government approval in-hand. South Korean regulators also gave it the go-ahead earlier this year.

Price said discussions with the Chinese regulator are “proceeding very much on the normal course” and no issues have been raised thus far.

The combined company, Anglo Teck, is to maintain its headquarters in Canada and have most senior managers and board members based here. But it will continue to be incorporated in the United Kingdom, meaning that, under current rules, Teck would be dropped from the S&P/TSX composite index.

Emma Chapman, director of investor relations, told analysts that there’s been some “really positive momentum” in talks with S&P Dow Jones Indices toward finding a “practical solution” that would allow Anglo Teck be included in the Canadian index.

“This is ultimately being driven by market participants who really want this outcome,” she said.

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2026.