Capstone Copper Corp (ASX: CSC) shares are pushing higher on Thursday morning.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 copper stock is up 2% to $11.67.
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Why is this ASX 200 copper stock pushing higher?
Investors have been buying Capstone Copper shares today after responding positively to the company's first quarter results.
According to the release, consolidated total contained copper production for the first quarter was 47,960 tonnes at C1 cash costs of $2.66 per pound.
This underpinned revenue of US$652.5 million for the first quarter, which is up 22% from US$533.3 million a year earlier.
This helped the company swing to a net profit attributable to shareholders of US$102.5 million, compared to a loss in the prior corresponding period.
Adjusted earnings were also strong, with record adjusted net income of US$94.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of US$329.1 million.
The ASX copper stock highlights that this marks the sixth consecutive quarter of record adjusted EBITDA, driven largely by higher realised copper prices and supportive gold and silver prices.
Operating cash flow (before changes in working capital) came in at $217.9 million compared to $166.1 million in the prior corresponding period.
Net debt is now $737.5 million, which is a decrease from $780.1 million at the end of December.
Management commentary
Commenting on the quarter, the ASX 200 copper stock's president and CEO, Cashel Meagher, said:
Q1 marked our sixth consecutive quarter of record EBITDA generation driven by solid operations and all-time high copper prices. For the remainder of 2026, we are focused on operational execution and continuing to advance our high-return organic growth opportunities, including executing the Mantoverde Optimized Project, advancing Santo Domingo to a sanctioning decision, and progressing our exploration strategy centered around district-scale growth.
Despite recent geopolitical volatility, copper prices remain strong and fundamentals support continued momentum, reinforcing our ability to deliver significant value through our peer-leading growth pipeline.
Outlook
Capstone Copper advised that it continues to expect production of 200,000 to 230,000 tonnes of copper and C1 cash costs of $2.45 to $2.75 per payable pound of copper in 2026.
In addition, its capital expenditure, capitalised stripping, and exploration expenditure guidance is unchanged.
However, it will continue to monitor and manage the impacts stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.
And while to date it has not experienced any inventory or operational impacts, cost pressures, notably from higher diesel and sulphuric acid prices, represent a headwind.
