Nickel Asia Corp. saw a 31-percent decline in its sales of nickel ore shipments in the first half of the year to an estimated P5.15 billion due mainly to the continuing weakness in the price of the commodity in the global market.
Also contributing to the decline was the lower volume of nickel ore shipped for the period, which stood at 8.54 million wet metric tons. This reflected a 12-percent decline from 9.68 million WMT of nickel ore shipments made in the same period last year.
The nickel ore, which came from four mines, was sold mainly to Japanese and Chinese customers, Nickel Asia said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday.
Nickel Asia explained that the drop in sales volume was the result of a delayed start of shipment from its Hinatuan and Cagdianao mines due to a prolonged rainy season and resulting sea swells in northeastern Mindanao, where the two mines are located. There was also a temporary reduction in the deliveries of limonite ore to the Taganito high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant.
According to Nickel Asia, the estimated realized nickel price for the 5.14 million WMT of shipment in the first semester averaged $18.51 a WMT, which was lower than the $23.20 average that was realized during the same period last year.