BENGUET Corp. reported a first-half net income of P267.7 million in 2024, a 39-percent decline from P438.6 million a year earlier.
This despite an increase in the second quarter income to P215 million from P30 million in 2023.
Second quarter consolidated revenues were said to have climbed to P825.2 million from P344 million due to the seven boatloads of nickel ore sold and the positive performance of the Acupan gold project in Itogon province.
First-half revenues declined 19 percent to P1.3 billion from P1.6 billion because of lower nickel prices and a drop in volume of nickel ore disposed.
“BRMC sold ten boatloads of nickel ore with aggregate volume of 537,000 tons valued at P944.4 million compared to eleven boatloads of nickel ore with aggregate volume of 586,294 tons valued at P1.2 billion for the first semester of 2023,” the mining firm said in its quarterly report, referring to its wholly-owned subsidiary Benguetcorp Resources Management Corp.
As of end June 2024, nickel ore was sold at an average price of $30.938 per ton, compared to $38.313/ton last year.
For the second quarter, the average market prices for gold sold were at $2,312.77 per ounce, compared to $1,998.89 per ounce last year, while nickel ore was sold at an average price of $30.94/ton from $29.78/ton.
Benguet Corp. milled 4,307 tons of ore from April to June, with average grade of 8.79 grams per ton of gold compared to 6,700 tons of ore with grade averaging 5.91 grams per ton.
Meanwhile, the company sold 1,009.67 ounces of gold for the second quarter, lower than the 1.074.08 ounces sold in 2023, while the sale of nickel ore increased from 109,080 tons to 372,660.
“Nickel ores produced depend on customer specification or market demand which price is also dependent on the nickel content classified as high grade and low grade nickel ore,” the company said.
Benguet Corp. reported earnings per share for the first half at P0.43 compared to P0.70 recorded in the same period of 2023.
“Management is continuously reviewing its development and production plan with the objective of finding new areas that will yield higher volume and better grade of gold,” the company said.
On Wednesday, Benguet Corp.’s shares dropped 2 centavos to P3.96 apiece.
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