MINING company profits surged in the first quarter of 2010, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this morning, up 9.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Company profits across the whole economy grew 3.9%, led by the mining and manufacturing sectors.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, mining company profits grew to $A15.12 billion for the quarter, the best result since the June 2009 quarter when the sector registered $15.99 in gross operating profits, and reversing the trend of five successive drops in profitability from the December 2008 quarter.
The most recent figure, however, is still well short of the same period last year, when mining companies registered a seasonally adjusted gross operating profit of $21.1 billion.
Mining was outshone by manufacturing, however, which registered a 16.8% increase, seasonally adjusted, to $10.24 billion.
Mining salaries improved 2% to just over $4 billion, seasonally adjusted, just beating the whole economy estimate of 1.7%.
Source: www.miningnews.net