DMCI Mining braces for tough 2019

MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Mining Corp., the mining arm of Consunji-owned conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc., is bracing for a tough 2019 with one of its nickel assets still suspended by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan Jr. said the company’s inventory is nearly depleted.

“We will be shipping mostly lower grade nickel which fetches a lower price in the market. Our inventory is also nearly depleted,” he said.

This despite the lifting of the suspension order on the company’s other nickel asset, Berong Nickel Corp. in  November last year.

In an order dated Nov. 15, 2018, DENR partially granted Zambales Diversified Metals Corp.’s (ZDMC) motion for reconsideration by modifying its earlier closure order to an order suspending the operations, production and shipment of the company.

In 2018, DMCI Mining shipped 643,000 wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore, a 22 percent improvement from 525,000 WMT the prior year.

Average nickel grade of the shipments stood at 1.7 percent, up 13 percent year-on-year.

This year, the company expects to ship nickel ore with an average grade of 1.57 percent.

DMCI Mining is still working on the reopening of ZDMC.

The DENR earlier said ZDMC could  be permitted to operate again once it meets certain conditions, which include continued rehabilitation and reforestation of the mine site as well as management of environmental structures in the area.

ZDMC has since submitted its action plan to address those conditions.

On a standalone basis, DMCI Mining recorded a 93 percent surge in net income to P190 million last year.

DMCI Holdings, meanwhile, posted a net income of P14.5 billion last year, two percent lower than the previous year.

Excluding non-recurring income of P38 million in 2018 and one-time loss of P281 million in 2017, core net income of DMCI Holdings actually declined four percent year-on-year to P14.5 billion.

The P38 million non-recurring income is attributable to a P715 million gain on sale of land by DMCI Homes and P679 million share in accelerated depreciation of Sem-Calaca Power Corp.

In the fourth quarter alone, DMCI Holdings recorded a P3 billion net income, slightly lower the P3.1 billion posted a year ago.