Panoramic tips H1 profit to hit $20m

Nickel miner Panoramic Resources is forecasting to be back in the black, today lifting its interim profit guidance to $20 million compared to the $8.6 million net loss it booked the previous year.

The company today tipped revenue for the six months ending December 31 2009 to reach $132 million, up on the previous corresponding period's actual result of $113.3 million.

It said the December 2008 result was adversely affected by the impact of the global financial crisis on revenue received for nickel, copper and cobalt sales.

"At the time the outlook for commodity prices was bleak, which led to the Board taking a prudent and conservative approach to the carrying values of the Company's mining assets, resulting in accounting write downs totaling $25.1 million before tax," Panoramic said in a statement.

The miner today also projected production for the period will increase with nickel output to reach 8,603 tonnes, up from 7,913t, while copper production will reach 2,578t, an increase on the previous year's 2,337t.

Shares in Panoramic climbed five cents to close at $1.93 today.