Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) saw its first-half 2025 profit soar by 88 percent to ₱2.1 billion, driven by stronger nickel ore prices despite lower shipment volumes caused by unfavorable weather.
The listed natural resources company told the Philippine Stock Exchange on August 6 that its attributable net income, excluding minority interest, jumped from ₱1.12 billion in the same period last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to ₱4.59 billion from ₱2.96 billion year-on-year.
NAC credited the sharp rise in saprolite ore export prices for the improved performance.
Mining segment lifts results
Revenues from saprolite and limonite ore climbed 36 percent to ₱10.59 billion from ₱7.79 billion in 2024. The company’s operating mines sold 7.85 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore in the first half, 4 percent less than the 8.16 million WMT sold a year earlier, as bad weather hampered production.
Average ore prices, however, offset the volume decline. Weighted average prices rose 44 percent to $23.87 per WMT from $16.60, while the realized peso-dollar exchange rate eased slightly to ₱56.47 from ₱57.50.
Exports reached 3.92 million WMT at an average of $38.31 per WMT, sharply higher than last year’s $21.95. Limonite ore deliveries to the Coral Bay and Taganito high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants totaled 3.93 million WMT at $6.96 per pound of payable nickel, or $9.43 per WMT.
Renewable energy expansion
In the renewable energy business, subsidiary Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI) posted an 8-percent increase in generation through Jobin SQM, Inc. (JSI) to 127,030 megawatt hours. Still, EBITDA slipped 12 percent to ₱460 million due to lower average tariffs from a steep drop in spot market prices, partly cushioned by Power Supply Agreements.
EPI is moving forward with several solar projects, including:
- Phase 1 of the San Isidro, Leyte project under Greenlight Renewables Holdings, Inc. (GRHI), its joint venture with Shell, which will add 120 megawatt-peak (MWp) — 72 MWp attributable — by the fourth quarter.
- The 45-MWp Botolan project in Zambales, set to start construction in late 2025 and go online in the second half of 2026.
- The wholly owned 145-MWp Subic-Cawag solar project, targeted for energization in late 2026.
- A planned 50-MWp solar facility in Nazareno, Bataan, with construction eyed before year-end.
Optimistic outlook
“We expect the recovery in nickel ore prices to continue, supported by tight supply and steady demand from Indonesia, and the ongoing implementation of mining policies in the country,” NAC President and CEO Martin Antonio G. Zamora said.
“With improving weather conditions at our mine sites and the ramp-up of shipments from Manicani, we are well positioned to deliver strong results in the second half of the year,” he added.
Zamora also noted the milestone in the company’s renewable energy portfolio. “In our renewable energy business, we are approaching the launch of the Leyte Phase 1 solar project, which will raise EPI’s total installed capacity to approximately 300 MWp by year-end,” he said.
“With nickel export prices trending upward, operations at Manicani gaining momentum, and the Leyte solar project nearing completion, we are laying a strong foundation for a meaningful uplift in performance this year,” Zamora said.
