(Reuters) -Teck Resources Ltd said on Tuesday Chief Executive Officer Don Lindsay will step down after 17 years with the Canadian miner, and also reported a surge in its second-quarter profit on upbeat prices for steelmaking coal.
Lindsay, who will step down by end-September, will be replaced by Jonathan Price as CEO while Harry Conger has been appointed president and chief operating officer.
The Vancouver British Columbia-based company posted profit attributable to shareholders of C$1.68 billion ($1.31 billion) or C$3.07 per share, from C$260 million ($202.05 million) or 48 Canadian cents per share last year.
“This marks Teck’s fourth consecutive quarter of record-setting EBITDA and profitability, driven by strong commodity prices in the quarter, which enabled us to complete $572 million in share buybacks and pay down a further US$650 million in outstanding debt,” departing CEO Lindsay said in a statement.
Average price steelmaking coal in the reported quarter jumped 215% to $453 per tonne from year-ago levels, the miner said.
Industrial metal prices have picked up as global business activity lifts from pandemic lows. Still, demand has been plagued due to fears of a deepening global economic slowdown as central banks seek to hike interest rates to curb inflation.
Teck said its sales for steelmaking coal stood nearly flat at 6.3 million tonnes, compared with 6.2 million tonnes last year.
($1 = 1.2868 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)