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High nickel prices buoy mining companies’ fundamentals
Indonesia’s nickel benchmark price (HMA) hit US$19,239 per dry metric ton (dmt) in September, the highest level since October 2017, when the government launched the HMA.
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The Pomalaa nickel smelter in Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, operated by state-owned metal miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), is pictured in this undated file photo. (Handout/Antam)
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ig publicly listed nickel miners and an equipment supplier saw their fundamentals improve this year, making up for losses from the previous year, amid surging global nickel prices.
PT Vale Indonesia, the top nickel matte producer in Indonesia, saw its net profit rise 10.6 percent year-on-year (yoy) to US$58.7 million in the first half of this year, according to its latest financial report.
The company, listed at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) as INCO, booked $414.9 million in revenue in the first half of this year, up 15 percent yoy from $360.4 million, even though its nickel matte production dropped 17 percent yoy to 30,246 ton because of repairs on its smelter facility. The company expects to produce about 64,000 tons of nickel matte this year, down from 72,237 tons in 2020.
“We hope that the production increase, cost control and projected high nickel price will [help maximize the company’s] revenue and profit,” Vale chief financial officer Bernardus Irmanto said at a public exposé on Wednesday.
Nickel prices have been rising this year because of a combination of high demand as reopening economies seek the metal, which is mainly used to produce stainless steel, and of limited supply as nickel miners, especially those in Indonesia, have yet to return to full operational capacity.
Due to rising global prices, Indonesia’s nickel benchmark price (HMA) hit $19,239 per dry metric ton (dmt) in September, the highest level since October 2017, when the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry launched the HMA.
Read also: Vale Indonesia’s nickel matte output down 20 percent in Q2
