Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B)(NYSE:TCK), the largest diversified resource company in Canada and the largest producer of steelmaking coal in North America, announced better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results on the morning of July 23, but its stock has responded by falling over 11% in the trading sessions since.
Let’s take a closer look at the results to determine if we should consider using this weakness as a long-term buying opportunity, or if we should wait for an even better entry point in the trading sessions ahead.
Breaking down the second-quarter results
Here’s a summary of Teck’s second-quarter earnings results compared to what analysts had expected and its results in the same period a year ago.
| Metric | Reported | Expected | Year-Ago |
| Adjusted Earnings Per Share | $0.14 | $0.12 | $0.13 |
| Revenue | $2.00 billion | $1.94 billion | $2.01 billion |
Source: Financial Times
Teck’s adjusted earnings per share increased 7.7% and its revenue decreased 0.5% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2014. The company’s strong earnings per share growth can be attributed to its adjusted net profit increasing 9.7% to $79 million, helped by its total costs of sales decreasing 1.3% to $1.69 billion.
Its slight decline in revenue can be attributed to two primary factors. First, commodity prices have fallen dramatically over the last year, including the price of coal decreasing 14.4% to US$95 per tonne. Second, the company sold just 6.5 million tonnes of coal during the quarter, a decline of 4.4% from the year-ago period. These two factors led to Teck’s coal sales decreasing 8.3% to $764 million, which could not be entirely offset by its copper sales increasing 8.3% to $704 million and its zinc sales increasing 0.8% to $530 million.
Here’s a quick breakdown of 10 other notable statistics from the report compared to the year-ago period:
- Production of coal increased 3.1% to 6.6 million tonnes
- Production of copper increased 6.9% to 93,000 tonnes
- Sales of copper increased 11.5% to 97,000 tonnes
- Production of zinc in concentrate increased 14% to 179,000 tonnes
- Sales of zinc in concentrate decreased 5.4% to 105,000 tonnes
- Production of refined zinc increased 4.2% to 75,000 tonnes
- Sales of refined zinc increased 8.3% to 78,000 tonnes
- Gross profit before depreciation and amortization increased 6.3% to $676 million
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 6.8% to $596 million
- Operating profit increased 12.3% to $238 million
Should you buy Teck Resources on the dip?
It was a solid quarter overall for Teck, so I do not think the steep post-earnings drop in its stock was warranted. With this being said, I think the drop represents a great long-term buying opportunity, because its stock trades at very inexpensive forward valuations and because it has a high dividend yield.
First, Teck’s stock now trades at just 13.6 times fiscal 2015’s estimated earnings per share of $0.68 and a mere 8.6 times fiscal 2016’s estimated earnings per share of $1.08, both of which are very inexpensive compared to its five-year average price-to-earnings multiple of 15.8.
Second, Teck pays a semi-annual dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.30 per share annually, giving its stock a 3.2% yield at today’s levels. Investors should also note that the company reduced its dividend by 66.7% in April to bring its dividend payout and yield “more in line with current commodity prices,” and to ensure the “strength and flexibility” of its balance sheet, but I think the current rate is sustainable for the long term.
With all of the information above in mind, I think Teck Resources represents one of the best long-term investment opportunities in the metals and mining industry today. Foolish investors should take a closer look and strongly consider using the post-earnings weakness to begin scaling in to positions.
