“Our three new nickel projects, namely Dinapigue, Bulanjao, and Manicani will supplement our annual nickel ore production volumes to help supply the ever-growing demand for nickel ore driven by both the stainless-steel and EV markets,” Zamora, the president and CEO of Nickel Asia, said in a statement on Wednesday as the company released new earnings data.
“Furthermore, our diversification into renewable energy continues with three more projects in the immediate pipeline, which brings us closer to our 1-GW [Gigawatt] goal by 2028,” he added.
The group’s investments via Emerging Power Inc.’s subsidiary, Jobin SQM, increased power generation by 54 percent, reaching 117,935 megawatt hours.
This was due to the expansion of capacity to 172 megawatts-peak (MWp) in Subic.
Higher revenues and cost management increased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) by 58 percent to P524.3 million.
Lower prices weigh on profit
Meanwhile, Nickel Asia reported a net income of P1.12 billion for the first half of 2024, down from P1.75 billion last year.
EBITDA dropped to P2.96 billion from P4.79 billion, while revenues from ore sales fell 16 percent to P7.79 billion due to lower ore prices.
The company sold 8.16 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore, an 8.5 percent increase from last year’s 7.52 million wet metric tons.
The average nickel ore sales price dropped 26 percent to $16.60 per wet metric ton. Its equity share in high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants resulted in losses of P388.20 million, up from P77.07 million last year.
