Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. said Wednesday net income reached P2.13 billion in the first nine months, up from P1.86 billion it booked in the same period last year.
FNI is a diversified Filipino company with interests in ferronickel ore mining and processing, logistics and port operations and cement and steel production.
The company attributed the higher nine-month income to the group’s flagship mining project in Surigao del Norte operated by subsidiary Platinum Group Metals Corp.
“Overall outlook for FNI looks reassuring. With the opening of our Palawan mineral project, we expect healthier returns for our stakeholders. Although weather conditions have not been permissive, we have continued to improve our operations and pursue our expansion plans,” said FNI president Dante Bravo.
FNI’s revenues on the sale of medium-grade nickel increased on the back of favorable forex rates and higher average realized price, while shipment volumes reeled from inclement weather and a lower price for low-grade ore.
The sale of nickel ore dropped 25.5 percent to 3.150 million wet metric tons from 4.228 million WMT of nickel ore in the same period last year.
The group completed 58 nickel ore shipments, against 78 shipments in the same period last year due to erratic weather conditions registering 161 rainy days to 137 last year.
The resulting sales mix was 78 percent low-grade ore and 22 percent medium-grade ore in 2022 versus the previous period’s blend of 81 percent low-grade ore and 19 percent medium-grade ore.
Shipments consisted of 2.450 million WMT low-grade nickel ore and 0.700 million WMT medium-grade nickel ore compared to 3.424 million WMT low-grade nickel ore and 0.804 WMT medium-grade nickel ore in the same period in 2021.
The average realized nickel ore price in the first nine months this year was $28.89 per WMT, lower by $1.89 per WMT or 6.1 percent than last year’s $30.78 per WMT.
Low-grade ore was $25.49 per WMT, lower by $4.30 per WMT or 14.4 percent from last year’s $29.79 per WMT. Medium-grade ore fetched $40.79 per WMT, higher by $5.80/WMT or 16.6 percent versus last year’s $34.99 per WMT.
The average realized peso over the US dollar exchange rate for the group’s export revenues was P54.87, higher by P5.65 or 11.5 percent than P49.22 in the same period last year.
FNI recently disclosed that its 20-percent stake in China’s Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Co. Ltd. that aims to enhance synergies with its nickel ore mines and GCTN as an ore processor provided a steady value-adding enterprise for the group.
