DMCI Mining nearly doubles profit to P206 million

MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Mining Corp. nearly doubled its net income to P206 million in the nine months to September as revenues surged 40 percent to P978 million, buoyed by the shipment of higher-grade ore and higher nickel prices.

The company recorded a mere one percent uptick in nickel shipments as both its nickel assets made no shipments during the third quarter.

DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan Jr. said the company hopes to ship more in the coming months.

“We hope to ship more in the coming months using old and new inventory. The mining suspension order for BNC (Berong Nickel Corp.) has been lifted and the timing could not be better for our employees and host community in Palawan,” Simbulan said.

However, the company’s Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC) continued to await the reissuance of its port permit, while poor weather conditions prevented BNC from making any shipment.

For the nine-month period, DMCI Mining shipped 482,762 wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore compared to 476,155 WMT the year earlier.

According to the company, majority of the shipments or 430 thousand WMT, came from the old stockpile of BNC, while the rest were from the inventory of ZDMC.

Average nickel grade from January to September increased by 14 percent, while average selling price grew 33 percent from $29 to $39.

“A lot of them have been in and out of work for nearly two years because of our mining suspension. We plan to rehire our people and subcontractors to normalize our operations,” he added.

ZDMC remains suspended together with 11 other mining companies that appealed their closure or suspension order to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“We are still reviewing our options for ZDMC. But we are committed to seeing this through,” Simbulan said. 

He said the company is still studying what possible options to take, while ZDMC remains suspended.