Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp booked one-off losses of about 15-billion yen ($137-million) on the Ambatovy nickel/cobalt project in Madagascar in the October to December quarter and cut its nickel output estimate for the current year for the project.
The losses include about 10-billion yen due to lower-than-expected production and about 5-billion yen on the disposal of some fixed assets and appraisal of ore inventories, Sumitomo CFO Koichi Takahata told a news conference.
For the current business year to end-March, Sumitomo lowered its estimate of Ambatovy's nickel output to 38 000 t to 40 000 t from 40 000 t to 43 000 t.
Takahata said output is expected to grow to around 46 000 t next year starting in April. Sumitomo owns a 47.67% stake in the project, while Canada's Sherritt International and South Korea's Korea Resources also hold stakes in the project.