Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold earnings double in 1Q

Phoenix-based Freeport said profit rose to $1.12 billion, or $2.64 per share, for the three-month period that ended March 31, compared with $476 million, or $2.02 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Sales were $5.67 billion, up from $2.25 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of $2.12 per share on $4.69 billion in sales.

Freeport's shares rose $1.51, or 1.3 percent, to $120.16 in morning trading.

Freeport acquired Phelps Dodge Corp. last year for $26 billion, becoming the largest publicly traded copper company. In addition to Phelps Dodge mines, Freeport operates the Grasberg mine, one of the world's largest sources of precious metals in Pampua, Indonesia.

Copper remains in high demand despite the faltering U.S. housing market because China and India continue to press for more resources. A strike by mine workers in Chile, the world's primary copper-producing nation, also is boosting copper prices.

The price of copper rose 27 percent and the price of gold rose 9.2 percent during the quarter on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Freeport Chief Executive Richard C. Adkerson and Chairman James R. Moffett said in a statement the company would "focus on maximizing current production volumes" to meet the high demand.

The company's mines posted sales in the first quarter of 911 million pounds of copper and 280,000 ounces of gold. That's down from 1 billion pounds of copper and 977,000 ounces of gold in first-quarter 2007 figures that include Phelps Dodge sales.