Briefcase
Hecla’s income dips slightly in 1Q
Hecla Mining Co. has reported a dip in first-quarter net income compared with the first quarter of 2021.
The Coeur d’Alene-based company reported net income of $4 million, or 1 cent a share in the first quarter of 2022, down from net income of $11.7 million, or 2 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2021.
Hecla reported $186.5 million in sales in the first quarter, up slightly from $185 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company indicated its mines generated positive cash flow of $16.4 million in the first quarter after a semiannual debt interest payment and despite inflationary cost pressures, slow supply chains and pandemic-related labor challenges.
“Over the last eight quarters, we have generated $434 million in cash flow from operations and this quarter marked our eighth consecutive quarter of free cash flow with $232 million generated over that period,” Phillips S. Baker Jr., Hecla’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “This strong, consistent performance has strengthened our balance sheet and led to credit rating upgrades.”
Hyundai likely to build Georgia plant
ATLANTA – South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group is expected to announce next week that it’s building a massive electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia, according to a U.S. official familiar with the anticipated announcement.
Hyundai is finalizing those plans as President Joe Biden is set to travel to South Korea next week as part of his first visit to Asia during his presidency.
The White House and Hyundai have been in discussions about the project, which is expected to bring thousands of new jobs to Georgia, and the formal announcement is likely during Biden’s scheduled May 20-21 visit to Seoul, according to the official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official stressed though that details of the formal announcement are still being worked out.
The plant could grow to include 8,500 employees and would be built on a 2,200-acre site that state and local governments own near the town of Ellabell, Georgia, said two people familiar with Georgia’s talks with Hyundai. The location’s about 25 miles inland from Savannah.
It would be the second huge electric vehicle plant announced in Georgia in less than a year. Rivian Automotive in December announced it would build a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant about 45 miles east of Atlanta.
FTX chief takes stake in Robinhood
NEW YORK – The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets, according to a filing with U.S. regulators on Thursday.
Samuel Bankman-Fried said in the filing that he bought the shares thinking they were an attractive investment and that he doesn’t have any plans to change or influence the control of Robinhood.
About a quarter of the revenue Robinhood made during the first three months of the year from trading by customers came from cryptocurrencies. Robinhood has been bolstering its crypto business, rolling out crypto wallets for its customers and adding new coins to trade on its platform.
Bankman-Fried built his stake in Robinhood through a company called Emergent Fidelity Technologies, buying shares steadily from March 14 through Wednesday. The stock’s price fell in that time, as it has generally since briefly touching $85 shortly after its debut on the Nasdaq in the summer of 2021.
From staff and wire reports