NAC income doubles to P5.2B on ore surge

Listed mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) more than doubled its attributable net income to P5.19 billion for the first nine months of the year, from P2.55 billion a year ago, driven by stronger saprolite ore export prices.

The Zamora-led company reported Wednesday that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also jumped 64 percent to P10.88 billion from P6.64 billion in 2024, as revenues from saprolite and limonite ore climbed 41 percent to P20.96 billion.

NAC said its operating mines sold 13.89 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore, slightly higher than the 13.57 million WMT recorded a year earlier. 

“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 CEO Martin Antonio G. Zamora said.

The weighted average ore price climbed 39 percent to $26.55 per WMT from $19.09 per WMT, reflecting the continued strength in global nickel demand.

Exports of saprolite and limonite ore reached 8.32 million WMT at an average price of $37.52 per WMT, a 52 percent jump from $24.74 per WMT in 2024. 

Deliveries of limonite ore to the Coral Bay and Taganito HPAL plants also improved to 5.57 million WMT, with an average realized price of $6.90 per pound of payable nickel.

Beyond mining, NAC continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio through its subsidiary Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI). 

Although EPI’s EBITDA fell 16 percent to P617 million amid lower electricity prices, generation increased by two percent to 171,279 megawatt-hour. 

The company, through its joint venture with Shell, began testing the first phase of its San Isidro solar project in Leyte and is advancing new developments in Zambales, Subic, and Bataan.

According to Zamora, the strong mining results and progress in renewable energy support Nickel Asia’s diversification into copper, gold, and solar. As such, the company remains optimistic about closing the year with solid operational and financial performance.