Despite this, NAC’s operating mines sold 13.57 million wet metric tons of nickel ore, up 4.3 percent from the previous year.
Lower commodity prices
However, the average sales price for nickel ore dropped 18 percent to $19.09 per wet metric ton from $23.24.
The company earned P57.22 per US dollar on sales, a 2.8 percent increase compared to P55.64 last year. NAC also faced higher losses of P665.25 million from its investments in high-pressure acid leach plants, up from P379.23 million last year.
Management’s view
“This year, we achieved our objective of operating Manicani in Eastern Samar and Bulanjao in Palawan,” NAC president and CEO Martin Antonio G. Zamora said in a statement.
“We are optimistic that these new nickel mines will drive volume and revenue growth in the coming years. We also completed infrastructure enhancements in Dinapigue, Isabela, paving the way for higher production,” he added.
Clean power goals
Emerging Power Inc.’s (EPI) subsidiary, Jobin-SQM Inc., increased energy generation at its Mt. Sta. Rita solar plant by 58 percent to 167,730 megawatt-hours after expanding capacity in February, raising Ebitda by 68 percent to P742 million.
EPI is starting construction on the 145-megawatt Cawag solar project, with the first 70-megawatt phase set for completion by late 2025, and is also developing a 120-megawatt solar project in Leyte in partnership with Shell.
“By the second quarter of next year, Greenlight Renewables Holdings, Inc., our joint venture with Shell Overseas Investments B.V., will complete construction of the first phase of its solar project in Leyte, with an initial capacity of 120-MWp,” Zamora said.
“And by the fourth quarter of 2025, the operations for the first phase of the CAWAG solar project in Subic, Zambales, with an initial capacity of 70-MWp. These developments are aligned with our objectives of increasing our nickel production and achieving a renewable energy capacity of 1 GW attributable to NAC by 2028,” he added.
