Nickel Asia Corporation (PSE: NIKL), a Philippine company that mines nickel and develops renewable energy projects, has shared its financial results for the first three months of 2026 (January to March), according to a disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company reported that it earned P371.77 million in net income for the first quarter of 2026. This is 26% lower compared to the P501.03 million it made during the same period last year.

Understanding the Numbers: A Special Sale Made Last Year Look Better

While the earnings appear to have dropped, there’s an important detail to understand. In the first quarter of 2025, Nickel Asia sold its ownership stake in another company called Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC), which gave them a one-time profit of P800.49 million. Think of this like selling a valuable toy and getting extra money that you wouldn’t normally get from your regular allowance.

If we remove that special one-time profit from last year’s numbers, Nickel Asia would have actually lost P25.55 million in the first quarter of 2025. This means the company’s regular business (without special sales) actually improved significantly from a loss to a profit of P371.77 million this year.

The company’s EBITDA (a measure of operating profit) was P1.35 billion, down from P1.55 billion in the same quarter last year.

Mining Business: Selling Less Ore But at Better Prices

Nickel Asia’s main business is mining nickel ore and selling it. Here’s what happened in the first quarter:

• Total revenue from ore sales: P2.42 billion, a slight 3% increase from P2.36 billion last year
• Volume sold: 2.27 million wet metric tons (WMT), which is 9% less than the 2.48 million WMT sold last year
• Average selling price: $18.03 per WMT, which is 10% higher than last year’s $16.40 per WMT

The company sold two types of nickel ore:

Saprolite ore (exported to other countries): The company shipped 0.56 million WMT at an average price of $35.63 per WMT. This represents a 15% decrease in volume and a 3% decrease in price compared to last year.

Limonite ore (delivered to processing plants): The company delivered 1.71 million WMT to affiliated HPAL (high-pressure acid leach) plants. The average price was $7.87 per pound of payable nickel, equivalent to $12.29 per WMT. This was higher than last year’s price of $7.05 per pound or $9.10 per WMT, even though the volume was slightly lower than last year’s 1.82 million WMT.

The Philippine peso also weakened against the US dollar, which helped the company. Sales were exchanged at an average rate of P59.19 per US dollar, compared to P57.85 per dollar last year—a 2% increase that gave the company more pesos for each dollar earned.

Renewable Energy: Major Growth in Solar Power

Nickel Asia also operates solar power plants through its subsidiary called Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI). This part of the business showed impressive growth:

• Operating capacity: Now at 293 megawatt-peak (MWp)
• Power generated: 95,831 megawatt-hours (MWh), a 63% increase from 58,857 MWh last year
• EBITDA: P267 million, which more than doubled (130% increase) from P116 million last year

The big boost came from a new 120 MWp solar plant in San Isidro, Leyte, which started testing in October 2025 and is expected to begin full commercial operations this quarter.

EPI is also developing several other solar projects:

• Phase 2 of the San Isidro project (120 MWp) is targeting testing in the third quarter of 2026
• A solar project in Botolan, Zambales with Phase 1 (45 MWp) scheduled to begin testing in the fourth quarter of 2026
• A 145 MWp solar facility in Subic, Cawag, with Phase 1 (70 MWp) targeting testing in the first half of 2027
• A 50 MWp project in Nazareno, Bataan, with construction planned for the second half of 2027

Exploring for Gold and Copper in the Philippines

Through its joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. called Cordillera Exploration Company, Inc. (CEXCI), Nickel Asia is exploring for copper and gold at the Cordon Project in Isabela province.

The exploration drilling discovered both copper-gold mineralization and gold mineralization. Some notable findings include drill holes showing copper concentrations of 0.32% to 0.48% and gold concentrations ranging from 0.06 to 6.11 grams per ton. The company plans to continue drilling throughout 2026 to better understand the size and quality of these mineral deposits.

Expanding to Copper Mining in Kazakhstan

On April 22, 2026, Nickel Asia announced it would acquire a 20% ownership stake in East Copper Production LLP, a company in Kazakhstan that owns the Karchiga copper mine. The mine can produce 8,500 tons of copper sulfide concentrate and 2,000 tons of copper cathode annually.

This purchase still needs to pass regulatory approvals and complete due diligence checks. This move shows Nickel Asia’s strategy to expand beyond just nickel mining and become a broader natural resources company across Asia.

Company Outlook and Management Comments

According to NAC President and CEO Martin Antonio G. Zamora, the company has shown resilience despite economic challenges, including the ongoing Middle East conflict that has affected oil prices and inflation, which in turn weakened the Philippine peso.

Zamora noted that nickel market conditions are improving due to changes in Indonesia (a major nickel producer), including changes to pricing benchmarks, tighter production limits, and increasing costs for nickel processing operations. These factors are creating a more positive outlook for nickel prices.

The CEO expressed confidence in stronger performance for the rest of the year as mining operations increase in the second quarter, supported by current nickel prices. He emphasized that the company is transforming from a nickel-focused miner into a diversified regional natural resources development company through its copper investment in Kazakhstan and expanding renewable energy capacity.

This report is based on Nickel Asia Corporation’s SEC Form 17-C filed on May 11, 2026.

This article is based on the company’s official press release and disclosures filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (PSE EDGE) system. For the complete and official version of the announcement, readers may visit the PSE EDGE website and search for the company’s filing directly.