UPDATE 1-Southern Copper's copper output seen above 1 mln tons in 2027, says Grupo Mexico

(Adds details from call, CFO quote, prior forecasts, share price)

April 26 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico expects its Southern Copper mining arm to produce over 1 million metric tons of copper by 2027, the division's finance chief said on Friday, pointing to better-than-expected production from its portfolio of projects.

The company also edged up its forecasts for this year, predicting output of 949,000 tons, said Leonardo Contreras, the unit's chief financial officer, in an earnings call.

The executive estimated that output of the key industrial metal from the division's projects will then dip to 920,000 tons over the next two years as the miner ramps up projects to reach production of 1.02 million tons by 2027.

Earlier this year, Grupo Mexico predicted output of 935,900 tons of copper for 2024, up from the 911,014 tons produced last year.

"One of the reasons we are upgrading our numbers is because we are seeing a much better (project) execution than before," said Contreras.

This comes a day after Grupo Mexico

reported a slide in its first-quarter earnings

, dragged down by lower mining division sales, which it attributed to lower prices for base metals copper, molybdenum and zinc.

Grupo Mexico stock rose 3.6% on Friday to close at 106.71 pesos per share.

The mining and transport conglomerate is one of the world's largest copper producers, with mines in Peru, the United States, Spain and its home base of Mexico. The firm is controlled by billionaire German Larrea. (Reporting by Marion Giraldo; Editing by David Alire Garcia)