DMCI net income down by 17%

DMCI Mining Corp. reported a 17-percent drop in its nine-month net income of P1.17 billion, compared to last year’s P1.41 billion, largely due to lower nickel ore shipments and average nickel grade sold during the period.

For the third quarter, net income declined by 56 percent to P80 million from P181 million year on year due to the combined effect of lower shipment, which dropped by 50 percent, and flattish nickel grade sold, which decreased by 1 percent.

Total shipments declined from January to September. Nickel ore shipments went down by 25 percent to 1.09 million wet metric tons (WMT) from 1.45 million WMT.

Despite the 4-percent decrease in average nickel grade sold from 1.38 percent to 1.33 percent, DMCI Mining posted a 16-percent improvement in nine-month average selling price to $50 from $43 previously.

As of end-September, total inventory slid by 76 percent to 109,000

WMT from 450,000 WMT, of which most, or 81 percent, originated from Zambales.

“We expected a severe profit decline because of the depletion of our Berong mine late last year. Fortunately, the bullish nickel market allowed us to ship even the low-grade inventory of Berong,” said DMCI Mining President Tulsi Das Reyes.

“Strong nickel prices and local currency weakness also moderated the impact of lower shipments on our bottom line,” he added.

DMCI Mining operates as a subsidiary of DMCI Holdings Inc. It undertakes exploration and mining of nickel, chromite and iron laterite through its operations in Zambales and Palawan.