A very good morning to everyone, and thank you for attending OM Holdings' webinar this morning. My name is Eugene, and I am the Group Financial Controller of OM Holdings. Together with me is Rose, and we will be hosting the webinar this morning. First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone for dialing in to our presentation following the release of OM Holdings' first-half 2026 financial results on the 27th of August 2026. We would be running through the key financial highlights, followed by a question and answer session. If you would like to submit a question, please use the Q&A function at the bottom of your screen. If we are unable to present your question during the webinar, we will attempt to address the queries after the webinar. I think let's start the presentation.
Just to recap, and for the benefit of new investors joining the webinar for the first time, OM Holdings is a manganese and silicon company with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Our flagship smelter in Sarawak is anchored by sustainable hydropower with prices locked in through to FY 2033. The plant is also located close to the Samalaju Port, which allows us to benefit from close access to direct shipping. OMH is dual-listed with our primary listing on the ASX, the Australian Securities Exchange, and this was since 1998. We are also secondly listed on Bursa Malaysia since June 2021. This presents a unique exposure to both equity markets and is the lowest cost quartile smelter complex in Sarawak, which is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Moving on to the next slide.
We have a niche product portfolio consisting of manganese ores, manganese alloys, and silicon alloys, all these being critical elements for steel. The group owns a manganese mine at Bootu Creek, Australia, which ceased production in December 2021. It has since been under care and maintenance. Having said that, manganese ore remains a core product for the group. We continue to procure manganese ores for internal consumption, as well as sales to third parties, mainly across Asia. It is also the key raw material used to produce manganese alloys. Moving on. Manganese alloys and silicon alloys are essential inputs in steelmaking, and both of these products are produced at our Sarawak plant. These alloys are added to steel during the production process to enhance its strength, and these cannot be substituted with other materials.
As of today, two of our ferrosilicon furnaces have been idled to align with the prevailing market demands. Next slide, please. For the first half of 2026, we have delivered resilient performance, recording a revenue of approximately $265 million, despite continued market challenges, especially on the ferrosilicon front. We realized marginally higher average selling prices across all products, leading to an improvement in our gross profit margin. However, this was offset by lower volumes of manganese ores and ferrosilicon sold during this period. Although revenue was 14% lower than in the first half of 2025, the group returned to profitability, recording a $26.2 million profit after tax compared to a $9.5 million loss in the first half of 2025. This turnaround was largely due to the disposal of our effective 13% interest in the Tshipi Mine earlier this year.
Now, for similar reasons, the group's EBITDA was at $87 million for the first half of 2026 against $19.1 million for the first half of 2025, with a profit per share of $0.0344 for this current period. Looking at the market updates for ferrosilicon . If you look at ferrosilicon prices, which is the blue line that you see on the screen, it has been on a downward trend since December 2024. However, we have seen some recovery over the past few months. This recent improvement was supported by the geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, which has increased fuel and shipping costs, and also the strengthening of the RMB against the U.S. dollar, and the reduced supply of Russian origin ferrosilicon .
According to Platts, on a year-on-year basis, average ferrosilicon prices have increased by approximately 6.2%, which is about $1,198 per metric ton, in the first half of 2026 as compared to about $1,127 per metric ton in the first half of 2025. Now moving on to silicomanganese, which is represented by the brown line. The price trend for silicomanganese, if you look at it, while the average first half price was relatively stable, there was some volatility during this period, with prices rising in the first quarter before correcting towards the end of the second quarter. During the same period, manganese ore prices have started to increase due to higher fuel and freight charges, with prices also outperforming silicomanganese prices over the first half of this year.
On a year-on-year basis, average silicomanganese prices declined by approximately 2%, from approximately $950 per metric ton in the first half of 2025, decreasing to about $933 per metric ton in the first half of 2026. As of August, manganese ore prices have started to decline slightly, narrowing the gap with manganese alloy prices. We believe this could provide some support for future manganese smelting profitability. Turning to production, the Bootu Creek Mine, as mentioned just now, remains under care and maintenance, with ongoing efforts to repair the damaged landforms. In parallel, we are evaluating the potential for a restart through an optionality study where we assess the technical, operational, and economic pathways forward. As of today, 14 furnaces are in operations at our Sarawak plant, with six furnaces producing ferrosilicon and eight furnaces producing manganese alloys.
An additional ferrosilicon furnace was idle in the first half of 2026. Nonetheless, we remain on track with our production outlook, with approximately 70,000 tons- 80,000 tons of ferrosilicon and 150,000 tons- 170,000 tons of manganese alloys expected for the second half of this year. Moving on to the revenue front. The group realized marginally higher average selling prices across all our products in the first half of 2026. This was largely attributed to the current supply and greater geopolitical dynamics. This was in spite of lower volumes of manganese ore and ferrosilicon sold during the period. Our gross profit margin for the first half increased to about 11%, which is an improvement from the reported 7% that was achieved in the first half of 2025.
Overall, EBITDA increased from $19.1 million in first half 2025 to $87 million in the first half of 2026, which was largely driven by the sale of the Tshipi Mine, as also mentioned previously. We continue to focus on cost and cash, levers that are all within our control. Through disciplined capital management, our gearing ratio has declined from 0.5 x in the first half of 2025 to currently 0.4 x in the first half of 2026, and this is in line with the group's strategy to continuously lower our debt profile. In end February 2026, we completed the disposal of our 13% effective interest in the Tshipi Mine for a total cash consideration of approximately $120 million.
Part of this consideration received was used to pay down our debt, which included the early redemption of the private bonds which was issued in 2022, the repayment of our term loan obligations, and also the repayment of our revolving credit facilities. All this has led to a lower debt level for the first half of 2026. Moving on to cash flow. We recorded a cash outflow from operations of $72 million for the first half of 2026, and this was mainly due to working capital movements. However, before working capital changes, the group generated approximately $17.5 million in operating cash, which is marginally higher than the $17.3 million recorded in the previous corresponding period. The group recorded a $ 145.1 million cash inflow from investing activities, which is mainly from the Tshipi asset sale.
While financing activities recorded a cash outflow of approximately $47.6 million, for reasons mentioned earlier. As a result, the group ended the period with $38.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, which is a slight increase from the $31.7 million in the first half of 2025. Before I end the presentation, these are some of the key takeaways for today's presentation, right? In all, the group reported EBITDA of $87 million and profit after tax to shareholders of $26.2 million for the first half of 2026, which is a notable performance following the loss reported during the first half of last year.
With the completion of the Tshipi asset sale, the group also distributed a special dividend of one Australian cent per share, which was paid out on 29th of May 2026, and this was an acknowledgment of the continued trust and support from our shareholders. We have also seen improvements in average selling prices across all products during the first half of the year. This has been supported by a number of supply side disruptions, including the shutdown of several manganese alloy smelters amid high operating costs, which has provided some support to the manganese alloy prices. For ferrosilicon, the strengthening of the RMB against the U.S. dollar, together with higher energy costs, has placed further pressure on the margins of Chinese exporters. In addition, reduced ferrosilicon availability from Russia has limited the supply of material into the international market.
Now, these factors have provided some support to ferrosilicon prices and helped establish a firmer price floor. We do expect prices to remain relatively range-bound due to relatively weak global steel demand. However, the downside is expected to be supported by ongoing supply disruptions, which should provide a degree of resilience for prices. With that, I will end my presentation for today. We shall now move on to the Q&A sessions. Rose, over to you.
Thank you, Eugene, for presenting the company's key financial highlights for the first half of 2026.
Thanks, Rose.
Good morning, everyone. My name is Rose, and I will be leading today's Q&A session. Just a reminder that if anyone has a question they would like to submit, you can do so via the Q&A function located at the bottom of your screen. There are a few questions that have come in, so let's get started. First, what is the EBITDA for the first half of the year if you exclude the profit and tax from discontinued operations?
Thanks, Rose. I think we received quite a few questions on this, seeing how bulk of the EBITDA was actually contributed by the sale of the Tshipi asset. The adjusted EBITDA, the adjusted operating EBITDA would be approximately $15 million if we excluded the profits and tax from the discontinued operations, which, like I mentioned, relates mainly to the sale of the Tshipi asset. This would be an approximately 21% decrease as compared to the EBITDA for the first half of 2025 of $19.1 million, I think due to the reasons that we already mentioned earlier.
Thank you, Eugene. Our next question is: Was the decline in sales volume between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026 due to demand or the company's decision to hold back because of weak prices/spreads? Do you expect volumes to recover in the second half of the year?
Well, I think in general, the decrease in sales volume was mainly from ferrosilicon and manganese ores. I think during the first half of 2026, there were lower volumes of manganese ores purchased from Tshipi as compared to the first half of 2025. I think in addition, we also idled an additional FeSi furnace due to prevailing market conditions. So there is idle capacity for FeSi, which is available, should market conditions improve. I think for the second half of 2026, I think sales volume will remain broadly in line with the first half of the 2026 levels. However, I think a sustainable improvement in steel demand and the pricing environment could provide support for marginally higher sales volumes and also slightly improved performance.
Okay. Thank you. The next question is about the company's inventories. Would you explain the increase in inventories in the first half of 2026 as being due to timing differences? How much of this increase is due to finished goods versus raw materials? Do you expect this to reverse in the second half of the year?
Okay. The inventory levels at the end of the first half was a little bit on the higher side. The majority of the increase in the inventories was mainly from finished goods of the alloys that we produce. There were some shipments of products that were pushed over into the third quarter of 2026. In addition, we have also explored holding inventory for distribution sales overseas in order to achieve higher returns for our products. This has also contributed to the higher inventory levels at the end of the first half of this year. Assuming there are no shipment delays or trade route disruptions or any events that are outside of our control, I think we would expect inventories to decrease in the second half of 2026 from the levels recorded as at the end of June 2026.
Thank you, Eugene. Looking at the time, we can probably squeeze in about two or three more questions for today.
Sure.
Okay. Next question is, what are the future plans for the idle or repurposed furnaces? Since ferroalloy prices have started picking up, could we expect these furnaces to start operating again?
Yeah. Currently, like I mentioned, we have two idle ferrosilicon furnaces. On the furnaces, we will basically continue to monitor the market conditions closely. You are correct to mention that we have seen some improvements in the ferroalloy prices recently, which in a whole is encouraging. But it is important, I think, for us to see if this improvement in prices is sustainable before bringing any idle capacity back online.
Okay. What are OM Holdings' future plans, given that the company has stopped mining operations in Australia and has sold off their interest in the Tshipi Mine?
Thanks. Thanks, Rose. I think the group's focus going forward remains very much on our core operations in Sarawak, right? Where our priority is basically to maximize the value and efficiency of this asset. At the same time, excuse me. At the same time, OMH remains open to business and investment opportunities that may enhance long-term shareholder value. That is a definite. While we are not able to comment, at this point in time, on specific opportunities right now, I think we continue to evaluate options that are aligned with our strategic objectives and also our investment criteria.
That is great. Okay, last question for today's session. Given the current market conditions, will the group be able to remain competitive for the next 5-10 years?
Oh, 5-10 years. I do not have a crystal ball, but I think we believe the group is well-positioned, right, to maintain competitive throughout this cycle. I think it is hard for us to be able to predict where prices will go in the next 5-10 years. From our perspective, what we can control is our operational performance, our cost competitiveness, our financial discipline, and long-term value creation. Our Sarawak operations does give us access to competitive power, right? We have the flexibility to adjust our production mix depending on changing market conditions. So even through periods of weak prices, our focus remains to be scalable and to leverage on our financial and operational resilience so we can position ourselves to capture opportunities when market conditions improve. I think we believe this approach is essential to maintaining our competitiveness over the long term.
I hope that answers your question.
I think that's a wonderful response, and that would be all the time that we have for questions today. If any of the attendees have any further questions, please feel free to forward them to investor.relations@ommaterials.com. In the meantime, we will make a recording of this webinar available via the OM Holdings LinkedIn in the coming days. This will conclude our webinar for today. Thank you everyone for attending, and of course, thank you, Eugene, for presenting.
Thank you, Rose. Thank you everyone for attending. Thank you very much.