Specialist alloy producer Afarak Group’s revenue decreased by 25.9% year-on-year to €57.1-million for the six months to June 30.

Processed material sold decreased by 25.9% year-on-year to 11 372 t, while tonnage mined decreased by 12.8% to 130 256 t.

The group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the six months under review was €1.6-million and the Ebitda margin 2.8%.

Net financial items were negatively impacted by a fair value adjustment of €500 000 on outstanding foreign exchange forward contracts as at June 30.

This resulted in a loss for the period of €700 000, while cash flow from operations stood at €1.5-million and cash and cash equivalents at €4.9-million as at June 30.

Afarak expects the demand for standard-grade, low-carbon ferrochrome to improve after the summer holiday, owing to the very low inventories of the industry at present.

The weak dollar is anticipated to continue to impact on profit margins, while cheap imports from Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Brazil and India would continue to weigh on the market price development, the company predicts.

It notes that the specialty segment could see more considerable improvements in demand.

The South African chrome ore business is expected to remain stable.

The concentrate production in the new Vlaakport mine wash plant is running smoothly, Afarak highlights.

The demand for chrome ore in China is continuously growing and prices have recently started to increase again after a decline during the second quarter, it adds.

“The market conditions throughout 2026 have been very complicated. Whereas the prices of low-carbon ferrochrome have improved in dollar terms, there has been steep decline in consumption, especially in Europe, especially due to the automotive and the oil and gas sector. The disruptions caused by the Iran war and the Ukraine war impacted our customer base gravely,” CEO Guy Konsbruck explains.

“As a consequence, we decided to reduce our low-carbon ferrochrome production in order to match the output and the demand. We expect the demand to pick up as of September, especially if a resolution of the Iran conflict could be reached quickly.

“In the meantime, we are actively pursuing future business opportunities as an attempt of diversifying our activities and creating new revenue streams,” he adds.