LIMA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Southern Copper Corp on Tuesday reported a 183 percent year-on-year surge in its fourth-quarter net profit to $172 million as better metal prices and increased production from a recent mine expansion bolstered its sales.
The result was under the mean market estimate of $298 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In all of 2016, the company posted $777 million in net profit, up from $736 million in 2015.
The miner, which is headquartered in Arizona and owned by Grupo Mexico, said its copper production rose 21 percent to about 900,000 tonnes in 2016, a new company record, thanks to an expansion at its Buenavista mine in Mexico.
The company said that this year it will launch plans to expand its copper production capacity to at least 1 million tonnes by mid-2018.
Southern operates mines in Mexico and Peru.
(Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)