• New milestone for the Group which is refocusing on Mining and Metals activities, following the announcement of the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding for the divestment of Aubert & Duval2
  • Confirmed positioning as a responsible and contributive company. 2021 commitments met or exceeded, particularly regarding climate and safety, with one of the lowest accident rates in the industry
  • Excellent operational performance in manganese, nickel and mineral sands, and resilience in mining activity in New Caledonia:
    • Strong organic growth in ore production in Gabon at 7 Mt (+21% versus 2020)
    • Increase in manganese alloys production (747 kt, +7%), with an improvement in the mix and record price levels
    • Increase in nickel ore exports in New Caledonia to nearly 3 Mwmt (+17%)
    • Strong growth in nickel ore production in Weda Bay, with a fourfold increase to 14 Mwmt
  • Construction of the lithium plant in Argentina restarted in response to the acceleration in demand for metals for the energy transition
  • In the new Eramet scope, excluding operations sold or in the process of being sold1:
    • Group EBITDA doubled to €1,051m in 2021, with a very significant contribution from manganese alloys, in a very favourable price environment partly offset by the strong increase in freight and energy costs
    • Free Cash-Flow (FCF) of €526m, including a contribution from Nickel activity in Weda Bay of €146m
  • Including operations sold or in the process of being sold:
    • Net income, Group share at €298m
    • Strong reduction in net debt to €388m, with leverage3 below 1
  • Proposal of a dividend of €2.5 per share
  • Over the last two years, 64% increase in Group EBITDA mainly resulting from intrinsic gains of nearly €450m4
  • 2022 Outlook:
    • Production targets up, including 7.5 Mt of manganese ore in Gabon, approximately 15 Mwmt in nickel ore in Indonesia5 and more than 4 Mwmt of nickel ore exports in New Caledonia
    • Invoiced selling prices for manganese alloys should remain slightly above 2021 on average for the year; consensus for average manganese ore prices at $5.2/dmtu and LME nickel prices at $19,800/t
    • Energy and freight prices are expected to continue to weigh on Eramet’s costs, similarly to those of coke
    • Based on the consensus of the abovementioned price forecasts, Group EBITDA would be approximately €1.2bn6 in 2022.

Christel Bories

 

Christel BORIES

 

Eramet group Chair and CEO

We achieved excellent results in 2021. They reflect the commitment and agility of our teams who have been able to seize opportunities in a changing environment. These very good performances demonstrate the relevance of our operating model, which strongly generates intrinsic improvements and cash-flow over time.

We accelerated the deployment of our strategy to refocus on our mining and metallurgical activities which are driving growth. The restart of the Lithium project as well as the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding for the divestment of Aubert & Duval are significant milestones.

Furthermore, recent developments in the market, marked by the very strong growth in demand
for critical metals for the energy transition and the strengthening of environmental and societal requirements, fully confirm the relevance of our strategic decisions.

We therefore enter this new phase of the Group’s history stronger, with the ambition to become a reference for the responsible transformation of the Earth’s mineral resources for living well together.

1 Excluding Aubert & Duval, Sandouville and Erasteel which, in accordance with the IFRS 5 standard – “Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations”, are presented as operations in the process of being sold in 2021 and 2020. See reconciliation tables in Appendix 1
2 The transaction is subject to consultation with employee representative bodies and all necessary regulatory approvals
3 Net debt-to-EBITDA ratio
4 Operations sold or in the process of being sold included5 Pending administrative approval
6 Based on an exchange rate at $/€1.18