Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (FNI), the second-largest nickel producer in the country, posted today a net income of Php1.86B for the year ended December 31, 2020, 43% higher than the previous year’s net income of Php1.30B. Revenues are up 9.1% to Php7.26B in 2020 as against Php6.65B in 2019. Nickel ore shipments went down 4.5% to 5.625 million WMT in 2020 compared to 5.890 million WMT as a result of the temporary suspension of operations in April to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The Group only managed to ship 103 vessels in 2020 compared to 108 vessels in 2019.
“Despite the decrease in volume versus the previous year, the higher prices of nickel in 2020 had a positive impact on our top line and improved efficiency in our operations had contributed to our bottom line growth,” said FNI President Dante R. Bravo.
The average realized nickel ore price in 2020 is US$26.16 per wet metric ton, 20% higher than that of the previous year. The resulting product mix was 68% (3.831 million WMT) low-grade nickel ore and 32% (1.794 million WMT) medium-grade nickel ore in 2020 as against 45% (2.660 million WMT) low-grade nickel ore and 55% (3.230 million WMT) medium-grade nickel ore in 2019.
Earnings before Income Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) continues to improve year-on-year. 2020 EBITDA amounted to Php3B, or an EBITDA margin of 41.49% vs Php2.3B or a margin of 35.36% in 2019.
