NICKEL ASIA Corp. saw its third-quarter attributable net income drop by 24.2% to P1.44 billion from P1.9 billion a year ago due to lower sales.

Revenues fell by 8.01% year on year to P7.69 billion from P8.36 billion due to the lower sale of nickel ore and limestone, the company said in a disclosure on Wednesday.

The company said the sale of ore and limestone decreased to P7.09 billion, 6.6% lower compared to P7.59 billion in the same period a year ago.

Revenues from services dropped 48.6% to P296.94 million from P577.68 million the prior year.

Meanwhile, revenues from its power generation rose 53.6% to P296.76 million from P193.18 million last year.

Nickel Asia chief executive officer Martin Antonio G. Zamora expects the operation of mines in Palawan and Eastern Samar to boost revenues in the coming years.

“This year, we achieved our objective of operating Manicani in Eastern Samar and Bulanjao in Palawan. We are optimistic that these new nickel mines will drive volume and revenue growth in the coming years,” Mr. Zamora said in a separate press release.

He said that Nickel Asia has completed infrastructure enhancements in Dinapigue, Isabela, “paving the way for higher production.”

Nickel Asia owns five mines: Rio Tuba in Palawan, Taganito and Tagana-an in Surigao del Norte, the Cagdianao mine in Dinagat Islands, and the Dinapigue mine in Isabela. These are operated by its subsidiaries.

The company extracts saprolite, which is shipped to Japan and China for the processing of ferronickel and nickel pig iron. It also mines limonite ore, which is processed in Coral Bay and Taganito processing projects.

Meanwhile, the company’s energy subsidiary Emerging Power, Inc. is targeting to achieve a renewable energy capacity of one gigawatt by 2028, as part of its sustainability initiatives.

“By the second quarter of next year, Greenlight Renewables Holdings, Inc., our joint venture with Shell Overseas Investments B.V., will complete construction of the first phase of its solar project in Leyte, with an initial capacity of 120 megawatts peak (MWp),” Mr. Zamora said.

He added that the first phase of the CAWAG solar project in Subic, Zambales will begin operations by the fourth quarter of next year. It has a capacity of 70 MWp.

Nickel Asia shares fell 0.9% or three centavos to close at P3.32 apiece on Wednesday. — A.H. Halili