News
- Strong increase in Group EBITDA to €293m in H1 2021, including intrinsic progress of more than €110m.
- Positive Free Cash-Flow (“FCF”) of €111m; reduction in net debt to €1.2bn at 30 June 2021..
- Net income, Group share at €53m.
- Stable manganese ore prices. Favourable price environment for manganese alloys and nickel, partly offset by the strong increase in freight prices and the negative currency impact.
- First-half well oriented with a good operating performance:
- Continued organic growth in manganese ore production in Gabon (+13%), and favourable change in the manganese alloys mix in favour of refined products.
- Excellent performance of Weda Bay Nickel : nearly 7 Mwmt of nickel ore produced, with an acceleration in growth dynamics and a contribution of €70m to Group FCF.
- Mining production low season accentuated by particularly unfavourable weather conditions in New Caledonia.
- Continued adaptation of the High-Performance Alloys division to the aerospace market environment which is still depressed. EBITDA improvement: significantly reduced loss versus H1 2020.
- Validation of the commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% for 2035.
- Outlook:
- Mining production targets maintained in Gabon and New Caledonia, with a considerably more favourable seasonality in H2, and revised upwards for Weda Bay Nickel.
- Forecast EBITDA over the year revised up: considering a particularly favourable price environment for manganese alloys and a revised consensus for 2021 of average manganese ore (CIF China 44%) prices at $5.01/dmtu and LME nickel prices at $7.9/lb , forecast EBITDA would be more than €850m.