• High price levels for all of the Group’s markets, in particular for manganese alloys (from +45% to +70% in Europe vs. H1 2021) and high-grade manganese ore (+34%), combined with a favourable €/$ currency effect.
  • Strong growth in volumes, continued development plans:
  • +16% of manganese ore produced and transported in Gabon (vs. H1 2021)
  • +31% of exported volumes of nickel ore from New Caledonia
  • +33% of nickel ore produced in Weda Bay
  • In the new Eramet scope, excluding operations sold or in the process of being sold:
  • Group half-year EBITDA more than tripled to €982m
  • Very strong increase in Free Cash-Flow (FCF) to €429m, including €86m linked to the sale of Sandouville in February
  • Continued Group debt reduction with leverage of 0.4x 
  • Net income, Group share at €677m
  • Construction of the lithium plant in Argentina started, in line with the initial schedule
  • Continued studies as part of the partnership with BASF for the production of battery-grade nickel and cobalt 
  • Signing of the Share Purchase Agreement for Aubert & Duval in June; completion expected by the end of the year, marking the refocusing on Mining and Metals activities 

  • 2022 Outlook:

  • Production volume targets confirmed, except SLN 

  • Favourable seasonality in H2, leading to a positive intrinsic performance over the year

  • Prices expected to decline in H2:
    Significant trend reversal in H2 for manganese alloys invoiced selling prices, as expected 
    Consensus for average manganese ore prices at $6.4/dmtu for the year ($6/dmtu in H2) and LME nickel prices at $25,600/t ($24,500/t in H2); ferronickel price at a level well below the LME nickel price

  • Input costs to remain at high levels

  • Strongly negative impact of all external factors in H2

  • In an inflationary context which remains uncertain, and based on the consensus of the abovementioned prices, forecast EBITDA revised up to around €1.6bn in 2022

Christel BORIES

 

Eramet group Chair and CEO

We achieved a very good first half-year, characterised by an increase in our production volumes in a particularly favourable price environment.

We enter the second semester by strengthening our mobilisation on operational excellence and cash optimisation, in a more uncertain macroeconomic context.

Eramet continues to refocus itself on a portfolio of competitive and cash-generating mining and metallurgical assets and now has a more solid financial structure.

This strengthened position enables us to support our future growth, supported by an increasingly exemplary approach to social responsibility