VANCOUVER - Teck Resources Ltd. is warning that it will take an impairment charge of about $1.13 billion if the federal government decides not to approve its Frontier oilsands mining project.
A decision on the $20.6-billion, 260,000-barrel-per-day project, which is expected to produce about four million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year over 40 years, is expected before the end of the month.
Teck reported $999 million in after-tax impairment charges in the fourth quarter, including $910 million related to related to its stake in the Fort Hills oilsands mine operated by Suncor Energy Inc. due to lower market expectations for future oil prices.
The Vancouver-based miner says its loss attributable to shareholders amounted to $891 million or $1.62 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $433 million or 75 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue fell to nearly $2.66 billion compared with nearly $3.25 billion in the fourth quarter 2018.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit attributable to shareholders was $122 million or 22 cents per diluted share compared with an adjusted profit attributable to shareholders of $500 million or 86 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of last year.
Analysts had expected an adjusted profit of 40 cents per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TECK.B, TSX:TECK.A)
The Canadian Press