PARIS (Reuters) -French mining group Eramet reported a sharp decline in first-half results on Wednesday and warned that macroeconomic conditions should remain difficult for the rest of the year, prompting a downward revision to its 2025 production targets.
Eramet reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 191 million euros ($219.12 million) in the first half of the year, down 45% from a year earlier.
The earnings exclude Eramet’s New Caledonian nickel subsidiary SLN, which is being propped up by French government loans.
“Our first-half results are not at all in line with our ambition,” Eramet Chief Executive Paulo Castellari told reporters.
The decline was driven by a 92 million euro cut in contributions from operations in Indonesia, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the EBITDA decrease, due to lower nickel grades and higher operating costs at new mining sites in Weda Bay, Castellari said.
The company revised its annual production targets, cutting manganese ore guidance to 6.5 million–7.0 million metric tons, from 6.7 million-7.2 million in early February, and lithium carbonate to 4–7 kilotons from 10-13 kilotons, citing operational delays in Argentina.
The revisions reflect challenges posed by a subdued global steel market, declining Chinese demand, and operational bottlenecks.
In contrast Eramet raised its target for marketable nickel ore to between 36 and 39 metric wet metric tons for 2025, from 32 Mwmt seen in February.
Progress in Gabon and Senegal provided some relief, with logistics improvements in Gabon boosting manganese ore volumes in the second quarter, and Senegal achieving a 20% increase in mineral sands production during the first half.
Castellari said he met Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema this month after the West African country last month announced an export ban on unrefined manganese from 2029 that would hit Eramet’s massive export-orientated production of the steel ingredient in the country.
($1 = 0.8717 euros)
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Leslie Adler)
