CMOC Group Limited

For the first half of 2025, operating revenue was CNY94.773 billion, down slightly YoY, mainly due to a decline in trading revenue. EBITDA rose 23.8% YoY to CNY19.8 billion, net attributable profit increased 60% YoY to CNY8.67 billion, and EPS was CNY0.41. Operating cash flow was CNY12 billion, up more than 11% YoY, free cash flow was CNY7.866 billion, and the gearing ratio fell to 50.15%. The mining segment gross margin was 52%, up nearly 6 percentage points YoY. Copper production was 354,000 metric tons, up 12.7% YoY, with sales of 323,000 metric tons; cobalt production was 61,000 metric tons, up 13.1%, with sales down 9.3% to 46,000 metric tons; molybdenum sales were 7,239 metric tons; tungsten sales were 4,277 metric tons, up 7%; niobium sales were 5,462 metric tons, up 5.5%; and phosphorus sales were 589,000 metric tons, up 9.3%. Looking ahead, management reiterated full-year production targets were still achievable, said copper output would likely be above average in 2025, and described a medium-term copper goal of 800,000 metric tons to 1 million metric tons by 2028. It also said second-half ongoing capex should be around CNY3 billion to CNY4 billion, excluding acquisitions, and described medium- to long-term project capex for KFM/TFM expansion and the Ecuador gold mine as roughly USD4 billion plus USD2 billion.

Chairman Jianfeng Liu framed 2025 as a transition year, saying the organizational upgrade is only the beginning and that CMOC is evolving into a platform-based mining company. He said the company will build two strategic poles around copper and gold, while also expanding minor metals and pursuing projects in Africa and South America. His tone was confident and expansionary, but he also stressed a longer time horizon for greenfield development and selective M&A rather than rushing acquisitions.

CFO Xingyao Chen emphasized that the revenue decline came from the trading business, while mining income, EBITDA, profit and cash flow all improved strongly. He said operating costs fell 11% YoY, administrative and financial expenses both declined, and financial expenses dropped 44% because of debt repayment and refinancing; long-term borrowings fell 58% to CNY3.9 billion, while short-term borrowings were CNY20.3 billion. He also highlighted a tax rate around 34% for the half and said the company is maintaining a 40% dividend commitment on net profit.

Analysts focused on strategic M&A, cobalt policy risk in the DRC, tax-rate volatility, copper cost reductions, copper production outlook, and capital spending/dividends. Management said CMOC will keep building a broader asset portfolio, with copper and gold as the main pillars, and that it is searching for projects in major mineral countries rather than relying on single-asset deals. On cobalt, management said the DRC export restrictions are a policy risk that must be managed as part of the business, but it remains confident cobalt will continue to add value over the medium and long term. On costs and copper output, management said there is still room to reduce costs at TFM and KFM, electricity shortages remain a constraint, and the company is targeting 800,000 metric tons to 1 million metric tons of copper by 2028 if power and logistics constraints ease.