Vancouver, BC – Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TCK.A and TCK.B, NYSE: TCK) (“Teck”) reported first quarter adjusted profit attributable to shareholders of $64 million, or $0.11 per share, compared with $105 million or $0.18 per share in 2014. Profit attributable to shareholders was $68 million ($0.12 per share) compared with $69 million ($0.12 per share) a year ago.

“Our ongoing focus on cost management and operational performance, aided by the strong U.S. dollar, is enabling our diversified business to withstand the generally weak commodity price environment, allowing all of our operations to generate positive operating cash flows after our sustaining capital spending,” said Don Lindsay, President and CEO.

Highlights and Significant Items

• Profit attributable to shareholders was $68 million and EBITDA was $546 million in the first quarter.
• Gross profit before depreciation and amortization was $685 million in the first quarter compared with $734 million in the first quarter of 2014.
• Cash flow from operations, before working capital changes, was $510 million in the first quarter of 2015 compared with $470 million a year ago.
• We achieved record first quarter coal sales and production of 6.8 million tonnes.
• We have reached agreements with our customers to sell 5.5 million tonnes of coal in the second quarter of 2015 based on US$109.50 per tonne for the highest quality product and we expect total sales in the second quarter, including spot sales, to be around 6.0 million tonnes.
• All critical milestones are being achieved on the Fort Hills oil sands project. The partners are focused on capital discipline and are working with our contractors to take advantage of the current economic environment. In April we completed the earn-in portion of project funding with our share of capital expenditures lowering to 20% from the earn-in rate of 27.5%.
• A falling Canadian dollar, lower oil prices and our cost reduction program have contributed to lower our U.S. dollar unit costs for our products with copper and coal unit costs falling by US$0.09 per pound and US$18 per tonne, respectively, compared to last year.
• First quarter production at our Pend Oreille zinc mine, which restarted in December 2014, was 6,000 tonnes and we expect to reach the full production rate of 44,000 tonnes per year in the second quarter of 2015.
• Our liquidity remains strong with a cash balance of $1.4 billion at April 20, 2015 and US$3.0 billion available under our revolving credit facility, which matures in 2019. Our cash balance is in line with our expectations at this point in the year and consistent with our goal of finishing the year with at least $1.0 billion in cash at existing debt levels.

Earlier today, we announced an eligible dividend of $0.15 per share on our outstanding Class A common and Class B subordinate voting shares to be paid on July 2, 2015. This reduction brings our dividend payout and yield more in line with current commodity prices and outlook and ensures balance sheet strength and flexibility for future capital expenditures or other capital allocation opportunities.

Download/view Q1 2015 Report for the full text of this release.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements as defined in applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, principally under the headings “Outlook,” that appear in this release but also elsewhere in this document, include estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management’s expectations with respect to, among other things, anticipated coal sales for the second quarter, timing of full production at Pend Oreille, the effect of changes in the U.S./Canadian dollar exchange rate has on our EBITDA, the timing of operation of our Line Creek water treatment facility, the improvement in recovery at Highland Valley, timing of oil production at Fort Hills, the expectation that our cash and credit lines are sufficient to meet our capital commitments, our ability to manage our capital spending profile, our expectation that we should complete 2015 with over $1.0 billion in cash, our expectation that the reduction in the dividend will preserve flexibility in our funding and help maintain the strength of our balance sheet, cost and production forecasts at our business units and individual operations, sales volume and selling prices for our products (including settlement of coal contracts with customers), timing of a regulatory approval for the Frontier energy project and demand and market outlook for commodities. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially.

These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of, zinc, copper and coal and other primary metals and minerals as well as oil, and related products, the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for our development projects and other operations, our costs of production and production and productivity levels, as well as those of our competitors, power prices, continuing availability of water and power resources for our operations, market competition, the accuracy of our reserve estimates (including with respect to size, grade and recoverability) and the geological, operational and price assumptions on which these are based, conditions in financial markets, the future financial performance of the company, our ability to attract and retain skilled staff, our ability to procure equipment and operating supplies, positive results from the studies on our expansion projects, our coal and other product inventories, our ability to secure adequate transportation for our products, our ability to obtain permits for our operations and expansions, our ongoing relations with our employees and business partners and joint venturers. Assumptions regarding the sensitivity of EBITDA and operating costs to oil prices are based on assumptions regarding the amount of diesel fuel used in our operations and transporting our coal products is as forecast, and also based on an assumed Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate of $1.25. Assumptions regarding the impact of foreign exchange are based on current commodity prices. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Events or circumstances could cause actual results to vary materially.

Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in market demand for our products, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, acts of foreign governments and the outcome of legal proceedings, inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources), unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, adverse weather conditions and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), union labour disputes, political risk, social unrest, failure of customers or counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, changes in our credit ratings, unanticipated increases in costs to construct our development projects, difficulty in obtaining permits, inability to address concerns regarding permits of environmental impact assessments, and changes or further deterioration in general economic conditions. Our Fort Hills project is not controlled by us and construction and production schedules may be adjusted by our partners. The effect of the price of oil on operating costs will be affected by the exchange rate between Canadian and U.S. dollars.

Statements concerning future production costs or volumes are based on numerous assumptions of management regarding operating matters and on assumptions that demand for products develops as anticipated, that customers and other counterparties perform their contractual obligations, that operating and capital plans will not be disrupted by issues such as mechanical failure, unavailability of parts and supplies, labour disturbances, interruption in transportation or utilities, adverse weather conditions, and that there are no material unanticipated variations in the cost of energy or supplies. Statements regarding anticipated coal sales volumes and average coal prices for the quarter depend on timely arrival of vessels and performance of our coal-loading facilities, as well as the level of spot pricing sales.

We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under securities laws. Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and our business can be found in our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F.

Webcast

Teck will host an Investor Conference Call to discuss its Q1/2015 financial results at 11:00 AM Eastern time, 8:00 AM Pacific time, on Tuesday, April 21, 2015. A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available at our website at www.teck.com. The webcast will be archived at www.teck.com

Download/view Q1 2015 Report for the full text of this release.

Investor Contact:
Greg Waller
Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis
604.699.4014
[email protected]

Media Contact: 
Marcia Smith
Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs
604.699.4616
[email protected]

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