Nickel Asia books hefty 148% first-quarter profit increase
Nickel Asia Corp logo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) posted a strong 148-percent profit increase in the first quarter, owing to higher ore prices and one-time gain recognized during the period.
In a disclosure on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, the company said its January to March net income had surged to P501 million from P202.38 million a year ago.
The group exported 0.66 million wet metric tons (WMT) of saprolite ore, up slightly from 0.61 million WMT in the same period last year.
But NAC got a further boost from a 43-percent increase in export prices, as last quarter’s market prices averaged $36.60 per WMT against the previous $25.57 per MWT.
NAC also recognized a gain of P800 million from the sale of its 15.625 percent stake in Coral Bay Nickel Corp.
READ: Nickel Asia completes exit from Palawan processing plant
Growth seen to continue
“With improving weather conditions and the opening of our Surigao, Manicani and Dinapigue mines, we expect mining costs to normalize and revenue growth to continue in the second quarter, supported by the continuing recovery in nickel ore prices and volume growth from our new mining areas,” said NAC president and chief executive officer Martin Antonio Zamora.
“Additionally, ongoing enhancements to the causeway at our Dinapigue mine will boost production and shipping efficiency,” he added.
Meanwhile, the firm also witnessed robust first-quarter results from its renewable energy arm Emerging Power Inc. (EPI), which recorded a 30-percent improvement in power generation to 58,157 megawatt hours.
It said EPI was “on track” to hit one gigawatt capacity by 2028, as more facilities, mostly solar projects, are expected to come online.
For the second half alone, NAC expects to see an additional 120 MW of capacity with the activation of phase one of the Leyte solar project.
EPI previously said it was not just focusing on solar, as it is “actively developing and exploring” other clean energy sources, such as geothermal, wind, run-of-the-river hydroelectricity, and battery storage.
