Nickel Asia Corporation (PSE: NIKL) has traditionally been viewed as a mining stock whose earnings rise and fall with nickel prices. That remains largely true today, but the company’s latest financial results show that another business is beginning to become large enough to matter.
In the first half of 2026, Nickel Asia’s power business generated ₱1.11 billion in revenue, up 68 percent from ₱658.4 million a year earlier. The increase came largely from stronger solar generation after the completion of the first phase of the San Isidro Solar Power Project and the continued ramp up of its commercial operations.
Power still represents only a fraction of Nickel Asia’s business. Ore and limestone sales generated ₱15.44 billion during the same period. But power’s contribution to total revenue has risen to about 6.5 percent from 5.6 percent a year earlier. More importantly, it is growing much faster than the rest of the company.
This does not make Nickel Asia an energy company yet. But the latest numbers suggest its years of investment in renewable energy are beginning to show up more visibly in its financial statements.
Solar starts to make a difference
Nickel Asia’s solar plants generated 213.19 million kilowatt hours in the first six months of 2026, up sharply from 127.03 million kWh a year earlier.
Management attributed much of the increase to the San Isidro Solar Power Project, whose first phase was completed and energized in October 2025. The average effective selling price from renewable sources also increased to ₱4.56 per kWh from ₱4.44.
The more interesting development may be what happened to costs.
While power revenue increased 68 percent, the cost of power generation rose at a slower 46 percent to ₱434.3 million from ₱297.3 million. The increase in costs reflected additional generating capacity and depreciation from new solar assets.
Based on these figures, the difference between power revenue and direct power generation costs increased to roughly ₱671 million from ₱361 million.
This implies an improvement in the power business’ gross spread to about 61 percent of revenue from 55 percent a year earlier.
This is significant because the renewable energy business has spent much of the past several years consuming capital as Nickel Asia developed new projects. The latest results suggest that some of those investments have now begun to produce a meaningful financial contribution.
Nickel still drives the profits
Renewable energy, however, should not receive too much credit for Nickel Asia’s strong first half performance.
Group revenue increased 44 percent to ₱17.02 billion from ₱11.78 billion, while consolidated net income jumped 87 percent to ₱5.68 billion. Net income attributable to Nickel Asia shareholders rose even faster, up 93 percent to ₱4.06 billion from ₱2.10 billion.
Mining remained the primary engine behind those gains.
Nickel Asia sold 8.65 million wet metric tons of ore, 10 percent more than the 7.85 million WMT sold during the first half of 2025. At the same time, the weighted average selling price increased 23 percent to US$29.25 per WMT from US$23.87. The weaker peso also boosted the peso value of dollar denominated ore sales.
The company’s mining business therefore remains far larger and more profitable than power.
What has changed is that renewable energy no longer looks like a distant diversification plan whose financial contribution is difficult to see. Revenue has crossed ₱1 billion in just six months, generation has increased sharply and direct power costs have grown more slowly than sales.
More capacity is still coming
The contribution could become larger as Nickel Asia completes more projects.
Construction of Phase 2 of the San Isidro Solar Power Project, which will add another 120 megawatts of capacity, remains underway. Portions of the project are scheduled for energization between August 2026 and February 2027, with commercial operations targeted in 2027.
Nickel Asia also continues work on other developments. Phase 1 of its Botolan project in Zambales has a planned capacity of 45 MW, while construction of the 145 MW Cawag Solar Power Project remains underway. Cawag’s first 70 MW phase is targeted for energization in May 2027, while its second 75 MW phase is expected to follow later.
These projects suggest that the 6.5 percent contribution of power to group revenue need not remain at that level.
But they also explain why investors should not automatically assume that Nickel Asia’s stronger earnings and cash flow will translate into ever larger dividends.
Growth competes with dividends for cash
Nickel Asia has historically returned a significant amount of money to shareholders.
In 2025, the company declared ₱0.18 per share in total dividends, which consisted of a ₱0.07 regular dividend and two special dividends totaling ₱0.11. In February this year, Nickel Asia declared another ₱0.14 per share regular dividend.
This February payout amounts to about ₱1.95 billion based on the company’s 13.93 billion outstanding shares. It is already equivalent to roughly 31 percent of Nickel Asia’s ₱6.27 billion attributable net income in 2025.
The company’s stated dividend policy calls for annual cash dividends of up to 30 percent of the previous year’s recurring attributable net income. Nickel Asia can pay more, but its board considers factors such as acquisitions, investments, working capital and capital expenditure requirements. The company specifically says that it may consider a payout above 30 percent when planned investments or capital expenditures do not materialize.
This year, however, investments are clearly materializing.
Group capital expenditures reached ₱2.64 billion in the first half, almost double the ₱1.37 billion spent during the same period last year. The company continues to spend on San Isidro, Cawag and other developments.
Nickel Asia can afford that investment. Operating cash flow surged to ₱7.40 billion from ₱2.48 billion, while the group still held ₱15.07 billion in cash at the end of June.
The question is therefore less about whether Nickel Asia has enough money to pay another special dividend. It clearly has substantial financial resources. The more relevant issue is how management chooses to divide those resources between shareholders and future growth.
Building a second earnings engine
Nickel Asia’s dependence on nickel prices has always been both its strength and its weakness. Higher ore prices can cause earnings to rise rapidly, as the first half of 2026 demonstrates. The reverse can also happen when the nickel cycle turns.
Renewable energy offers a different source of earnings.
It is still far too small to insulate Nickel Asia from a major downturn in nickel. But its trajectory has become worth watching. Power revenue has risen 68 percent, solar generation has expanded sharply, the relationship between revenue and direct generation costs has improved and another large block of capacity remains under development.
This changes the investment story gradually rather than dramatically.
Nickel Asia is still a nickel company. But if its renewable portfolio continues to expand at its current pace, the company’s future earnings may become less dependent on what happens to the price of a single commodity. For a business long associated almost entirely with mining, that may eventually prove more important than another strong quarter for nickel.
