Daily Tribune‘Our Palawan operations delivered a strong start to the year, supported by continued operational optimization, enhanced mine planning, and disciplined execution across our operations.’
FNI president Atty. Dante Bravo said that despite global and industry-wide cost pressures, the nickel-ore mining firm remained focused on improving productivity after posting P1.6 billion in revenues in the first quarter of the current year.
Photograph courtesy of FNI Website
The country’s leading nickel ore producer, Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., posted a strong first quarter of 2026 after posting a P1.646-billion revenue with a net income attributable to shareholders of P478.0 million, and earnings per share of P0.0935.
In a statement, the publicly listed mining firm said that in Palawan, first-quarter mining revenues increased by 36.4 percent from P1.205 billion in the same period last year to P1.644 billion, driven by higher shipment volumes and improved nickel ore prices.
Total shipments rose 8.9 percent to 550,632 wet metric tons (WMT) from 505,459 WMT in 2025, with the current quarter’s sales mix at 80 percent medium-grade and 20 percent low-grade nickel ore, compared to 100 percent medium-grade shipments in the prior year. All shipments for both periods were sold exclusively to customers in China.
Backing its strong revenue growth, the average realized nickel ore price increased by 23.0 percent to $50.57 per WMT from $41.13 per WMT, underpinned by tighter nickel ore supply amid quota restrictions in Indonesia, and elevated industry costs linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“Our Palawan operations delivered a strong start to the year, supported by continued operational optimization, enhanced mine planning, and disciplined execution across our operations,” said FNI president Atty. Dante Bravo.
“Despite global and industry-wide cost pressures, we remained focused on improving productivity, maintaining operational readiness, and advancing initiatives that strengthen efficiency and support our long-term growth objectives,” he added.
Further, FNI’s cost of sales amounted to P544.2 million, up by 2.2 percent from P532.3 million, reflecting higher production and shipment volumes during the quarter.
Operating costs, namely excise taxes and royalties, general and administrative, and shipping and distribution, increased by 22.4 percent from P433.3 million in the same period last year to P530.2 million this year, largely due to higher excise taxes and shipping expenses from higher volumes shipped, partially offset by a provision for Input VAT impairment recognized in the prior year.
Despite higher costs, net income attributable to FNI shareholders surged by 169.6 percent to P478.0 million, from P177.3 million a year ago.
Earnings per share correspondingly improved from P0.0346 to P0.0935.
The Company likewise continued to advance its sustainability and operational resilience initiatives during the quarter, highlighted by the deployment of electric dump trucks to support emissions reduction efforts and the production of 31,500 seedlings for rehabilitation activities.
“We continue to strengthen operational resilience through technology adoption, resource expansion, and disciplined cost management, positioning FNI to capitalize on evolving market dynamics, including changing nickel price fundamentals. With the start of the Surigao mining season in the second quarter of 2026, we expect to further build on the strong momentum started by our Palawan operations and accelerate overall performance for the year,” Bravo added.
