Listed firm Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. had a net loss of P43 million for the first three months of the year, a report said.

Lepanto reported a marginal profit of P12.5 million in March, but losses that were due to a shift from copper to gold production in late 2008 were too large to recover.

Last year, the company incurred a net loss of P763 million from P206 million in 2007 due to lower production prompted by falling copper prices, as well as foreign exchange losses.

Company President Brian Yap told stockholders on Monday that the mining firm produced 8,320 ounces of gold and 13,360 ounces of silver from January to March this year.

For 2009, Yap said Lepanto is aiming for P1.9 billion in revenue and P150 million in net income. To achieve these targets, he said the company will be taking advantage of increasing gold prices by continuing to focus on gold production.

Instead of producing copper this year, Yap said Lepanto will further develop its Victoria gold system, upgrade underground equipment, and improve company performance through efficient deployment of labor, power, materials, and supply.

The company is also increasing its authorized capital stock to P6.64 billion from P3.35 billion.