Philex Mining’s H1 profit plunges by 42%

Pangilinan-led Philex Mining Corp. saw its profit plunge during the first half of 2024 as higher metal prices failed to boost sales amid a drop in production.

Still, the gold and copper firm maintained a bullish outlook as the development of new revenue sources pushed ahead while its current main asset approaches the end of operations.

In a disclosure to the local bourse Friday, the company said its core net income fell by 42 percent to P410.33 million from P702 million in the similar period a year ago.

Philex Mining said net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company also plunged by 53 percent to P329.43 million in the first semester against the P704.13 million previously.

Cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization also decreased to P912.2 million from the previous P1.18 billion.

Its revenues also tumbled by 4 percent to P3.97 billion versus the previous P4.15 billion.

Mill throughput settled at 3.27 million metric tons (MT), down from 3.53 million MT in the January to June period of 2023.

Gold production fell 23 percent to 15,765 ounces from 20,361 last year.

Copper output dove by 12 percent to 9.8 million pounds against 11.17 million pounds in the first half of last year.

Meanwhile, gold and copper prices in the April-June period were higher than in the previous quarter.

Average realized gold prices in the second quarter stood at $2,008 per ounce, slightly up from $2,061 per ounce.

Copper prices, meanwhile, also inched up to $4.45 per pound against the previous $4 a pound.

Despite the decrease in metal production, production costs still inched up to P2.66 billion, 3 percent higher than the P2.57 billion spent in the first semester last year.

Outlook

However, company president and CEO Eulalio Austin Jr. remained bullish about the company’s growth outlook amid the development of its Silangan copper and gold project in Surigao Del Norte.

“Acceleration to commercial operations of the Silangan Project will be foremost of our priorities, and we are targeting to have our first metal output before the end of 2025,” Austin said.

“As soon as we reach the Boyongan Ore body during the end of this third quarter, we will start the block development works of the first production level, and thereafter, we will be seeing the first ore coming from the Boyongan Ore body,” he added.

According to the CEO, construction works on other ancillary facilities such as a ventilation shaft at the underground mine had been awarded to a mining contractor and are in progress.

Austin earlier said that keeping the operations of the company’s Padcal mine in Benguet until 2027 would depend on its bottom line and high gold prices.

Padcal mine, which started operations in 1958, was scheduled to cease operations at end-2024 after several extensions to its life. It has been producing copper concentrates, with gold and and silver as byproducts.