As earnings decline, Nickel Asia building new growth drivers

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Listed mining company Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) is counting on two new mines in the country to boost its profitability in the near future following the 30-percent decline in its nine-month net income.

NAC president and CEO Martin Antonio Zamora expressed hope the operation of new nickel projects, Manicani in Eastern Samar and Bulanjao in Palawan, “will drive volume and revenue growth in the coming years.”

“We also completed infrastructure enhancements in Dinapigue, Isabela, paving the way for higher production,” Zamora said.
NAC reported that its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company had amounted to P2.55 billion as of end-September from P3.65 billion in the same period a year ago.

READ: Nickel Asia profit slumps on lower ore prices

Revenues declined by 12 percent to P16.98 billion from P19.29 billion during the comparative period.

Revenues from ore sales decreased by 12 percent to P14.99 billion as an oversupply of nickel in the global market depressed prices.

Despite this, revenues from power generation totaled P1.02 billion, surging by more than 50 percent from the prior year.

Operating mines sold a total of 13.57 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore, up by 4.3 percent from 13.01 million WMT.

Breaking down, NAC exported 8.07 million WMT of saprolite and limonite ore at an average price of $24.74 per WMT.

It also delivered 5.49 million WMT of limonite ore to the Coral Bay and Taganito high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants at an average price of $7.78 per pound of payable nickel.

Prices are linked to the London Metal Exchange, the global marketplace for trading industrial metals.

Boosting power business

However, the weighted average nickel ore sales price slid by 18 percent to $19.09 per WMT from $23.24 per WMT.

NAC also recognized P665.25 million in losses from its combined equity share in investments in the two HPAL plants.

Meanwhile, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization hit P6.64 billion, lower than P8.83 billion a year ago.

As for renewable energy unit Emerging Power Inc. (EPI), its subsidiary Jobin-SQM Inc. (JSI) beefed up power generation at its Mt. Sta. Rita solar plant by 58 percent to 167,730-megawatt (MW) hours after injecting another 72 MW into the facility.

The 145-MW Cawag solar project in Zambales is expected to begin soon, with the construction permit for the first phase of the project already secured and the notice to proceed issued in September.

“The first phase of the project is targeted to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025,” the company said.

Greenlight Renewables Holdings Inc., the joint venture between EPI and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., will complete construction of the first phase of its solar project in Leyte with an initial capacity of 120 MW by the second quarter of next year.

“These developments are aligned with our objectives of increasing our nickel production and achieving a renewable energy capacity of 1 (gigawatt) attributable to NAC by 2028,” Zamora said. INQ