First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) surprised the market by accidentally releasing its first-quarter results during the trading day.

The Canadian miner fell as much as 3.4 per cent after its first-quarter results were released at 1:44 p.m. during normal trading in Toronto, before recovering some of its losses. First Quantum earnings statements typically come out after market hours. Lisa Doddridge, a spokeswoman for First Quantum, said the early release was an error by the newswire service.

Mixed results didn’t help the shares much. While the Vancouver-based company’s adjusted per-share earnings beat the average analyst estimate, revenue came in lower than expected and copper production fell 5.8 per cent from a year earlier.

The output drop was contrary to some expectations: Bloomberg Intelligence industry analyst Eily Ong had said growth in copper production -- aided by the ramp up of its new, massive Cobre Panama mine -- might support the company’s first-quarter earnings expansion while combating higher cash costs. While per-share profit increased a penny to 8 cents, C1 cash costs rose 5.5 per cent year-over-year to US$1.34 a pound of copper.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

“First Quantum’s growth in mined copper production could support earnings expansion in 1Q, while combating an increase in cash costs.”--Eily Ong, metals & mining analystClick here to view the research

The company is scheduled to hold a call with investors Tuesday at 9 a.m. New York time.