Nickel Asia Q3 profit jumps to P3.09B on higher ore prices, exports

NICKEL ASIA CORP. (NAC) reported a more than twofold increase in attributable net income for the third quarter (Q3), driven by higher nickel ore prices and strong export performance.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company’s attributable net income reached P3.09 billion, up 115.51% from P1.44 billion a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Consolidated net income jumped to P4.232 billion from P1.946 billion in Q3 2024.

Revenue from the sale of nickel ore and limestone surged 48.35% to P10.52 billion from P7.09 billion, supported by a 39% increase in the weighted average ore price to $26.55 per wet metric ton (WMT) from $19.09 per WMT.

Revenue from power sales in Q3 declined 10.88% to P264.47 million from P296.76 million, while revenue from services fell 10.43% to P265.96 million from P296.94 million.

For the January-to-September period, attributable net income reached P5.19 billion, up 103.44% from P2.55 billion in 2024.

NAC’s operating mines sold a combined 13.89 million WMT of nickel ore in the first nine months, up 2% from 13.57 million WMT in the same period last year.

Exports of saprolite and limonite ore totaled 8.32 million WMT at an average price of $37.52 per WMT, marking a 51.66% increase in export prices and a roughly 3% rise in volume.

“Nickel ore prices remain elevated amid tight supply, which continues to positively impact our performance. We expect this tightness to persist as Indonesia enforces stricter policies on production permits,” NAC President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Antonio G. Zamora said.

NAC’s renewable energy arm, Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI), operating at 172 megawatts (MW), generated 171,279 MWh in the first nine months, up 2% from a year earlier. However, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from EPI declined 16% to P617 million, mainly due to a lower weighted average tariff following a drop in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices.

On the exploration front, NAC’s joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Cordillera Exploration Company, Inc. (CEXCI), confirmed gold-bearing veins and porphyry copper-gold mineralization at its Cordon Project in Isabela, strengthening the company’s diversification into copper and gold.

“The positive results from CEXCI’s exploration further strengthen our diversification into copper and gold, and EPI’s continued rampup of solar projects drives additional growth. Building on this momentum, we anticipate closing the year with strong operational and financial results, delivering sustained value to our stakeholders,” Mr. Zamora said.

On Wednesday, NAC shares closed P3.85, up 38 centavos or 10.95%. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel