NAC profit jumps 88%
Higher prices of exported ore boosted the profitability of mining company Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) in the first half of 2025, despite a decline in shipments.
In a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday, NAC said its attributable net income, excluding minority interest, had soared by 88 percent to P2.1 billion from P1.12 billion in the first six months.
Revenues from saprolite and limonite ore climbed by 36 percent to P10.59 billion. This was despite the 7.3-percent drop in exports of these mineral ores to 3.92 million wet metric tons (WMT).
The NAC still saw its earnings increase as the export price of saprolite and limonite surged by 74.5 percent to $38.31 per WMT.
Operating mines sold a total of 7.85 million WMT of minerals, down 4 percent, as unfavorable weather conditions disrupted ore extraction.
Meanwhile, deliveries of limonite ore to the Coral Bay and Taganito high-pressure acid leach plants totaled 3.93 million WMT. They were sold at an average price of $6.96 per pound of payable nickel.
“We expect the recovery in nickel ore prices to continue, supported by tight supply and demand from Indonesia, and the ongoing implementation of mining policies in the country,” NAC president and CEO Martin Antonio Zamora said.
Zamora said the company was poised to record a “meaningful uplift” in its earnings this year because of the upward trend in nickel export prices. He likewise expects the Manicani project to gain momentum.
“With improving weather conditions at our mine sites and the ramp-up of shipments from Manicani, we are well positioned to deliver strong results in the second half of the year,” he added.
In a separate disclosure on Wednesday, NAC said its board of directors had approved an additional funding of P710 million for the Cawag Solar Power Project of NAC’s renewable energy arm Emerging Power Inc. (EPI).
Through subsidiary Northern Palawan Power Generation Corp., EPI is undertaking a renewable energy project, a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farm located in Subic, Zambales.
EPI is also exploring opportunities in geothermal, wind and run-of-the-river hydro energy as well as battery storage.
