Nickel Asia posts lower Q1 income despite higher ore prices

NICKEL ASIA CORP. (NAC) reported an attributable net income of P371.77 million for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, down 25.8% from P501.03 million a year earlier.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the listed natural resources development company said the decline reflected a higher base in the comparable period due to a one-time gain of P800.49 million from the sale of its 15.625% stake in Coral Bay Nickel Corp.

Excluding the one-off gain, NAC said its first-quarter performance marked a turnaround from the attributable net loss of P25.55 million recorded a year earlier.

“On a core earnings basis, there was a significant turnaround year over year from negative to positive,” the company said.

Revenue from the sale of saprolite and limonite ore rose 2.5% to P2.42 billion in the first quarter from P2.36 billion a year earlier.

NAC’s operating mines sold a combined 2.27 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore in the first quarter, down 8.5% from 2.48 million WMT in the same period last year.

The company said its weighted average ore price increased 9.9% to $18.03 per WMT from $16.40 per WMT a year earlier.

Saprolite ore exports declined 15.2% to 560,000 WMT from 660,000 WMT previously, while average export prices slipped 2.7% to $35.63 per WMT from $36.60 per WMT a year earlier.

NAC said it remained resilient amid global macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions that continued to weigh on markets.

“We have demonstrated notable resilience amid the macroeconomic turbulence stemming from the ongoing Middle East conflict, with the oil shock reigniting inflation and weighing down on the Peso,” NAC President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Antonio G. Zamora said in a statement.

The company said it expects stronger performance this year, supported by firm nickel prices and its long-term diversification strategy, including the acquisition of a 20% stake in a Kazakhstan copper mine and the expansion of its renewable energy operations.

On Tuesday, shares in NAC rose 1.56% or 8 centavos to close at P5.20 apiece. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel