Australian miner published its annual report on Wednesday. Profit declined compared to 2022.
Australian mining company specializing in titanium, zirconium, and rare earths, Iluka Resources, published its annual report for the past year on Wednesday (PDF), showing a considerable decline in profit compared to 2022. The company reported full-year net profit after tax of US$225.03 million, down from US$339.78 million last year. Concerning its under-construction Eneabba rare earth refinery in Western Australia, Iluka flagged a cost increase beyond its target of US$1 billion announced in December (PDF) and revised it to roughly US$1.2 billion. The company cites high inflation as the reason for the projected cost increase. Initially, Iluka planned to start production at Eneabba in 2025. This has been pushed back to 2026. Regarding the decline in profits, managing director Tom O’Leary noted that the economic recovery in China “anticipated by many is yet to materialise.” This dragged down sales of zirconium in particular. Titanium sales, on the other hand, remained stable because of binding offtake contracts.
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