IGO (ASX:IGO) executives used the company’s half-year results call to emphasize cost discipline, improving performance at the Nova nickel-copper operation as it approaches end of mine life, and ongoing efforts to lift productivity at Greenbushes while grappling with continued challenges at the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery.
Leadership update, safety, and sustainability priorities
Managing Director and CEO Ivan Vella opened the call by noting CFO Kath Bozanic will finish with the company at the end of the following week after more than five years with IGO. Vella said a handover is underway and the incoming CFO, Johan, is expected to start on April 1.
Financial results: lower revenue, improved underlying cash generation
Bozanic reported first-half revenue of AUD 194 million, down from AUD 284 million in the prior corresponding period, driven by lower nickel and copper prices and lower volumes from Nova, as well as no contribution from Forrestania after it was put into care and maintenance. She said the absence of Forrestania revenue accounted for about AUD 64 million of the difference.
Underlying EBITDA was AUD 49 million, with improved Nova EBITDA (up 15% to AUD 67 million) and reduced exploration spend (down from AUD 30 million to AUD 15 million).
IGO’s share of the underlying net loss from TLEA improved to AUD 1 million, compared with AUD 20 million in FY2025. Bozanic said that result included Greenbushes EBITDA of AUD 464 million (on a 100% basis) and a Kwinana loss of AUD 71 million (also on a 100% basis). She added that Kwinana’s result includes AUD 33 million of capitalized items following IGO’s full impairment of Kwinana, in line with accounting standards.
The company reported an underlying net loss after tax of AUD 39 million and a statutory net loss after tax of AUD 34 million. Bozanic said the statutory figure included proceeds from the sale of the Stockman royalty, and contrasted it with the prior period statutory loss of AUD 782 million, which reflected major impairments and tax-related derecognition tied to Kwinana as well as exploration impairments.
IGO did not declare a dividend for the half, with Bozanic citing a “prudent capital management approach.”
On cash flow, net cash from operating activities was AUD 28 million, improving from a AUD 7 million outflow in the first half of FY2025. Underlying free cash flow was AUD 29 million, supported by Nova, while care and maintenance spending continued at Forrestania and Cosmos. Bozanic said Forrestania spending is expected to cease once its sale to Medallion Metals completes, which Vella later said is expected to close at the end of the month.
IGO ended the period with AUD 299 million in cash and AUD 300 million of undrawn debt facilities, which management described as an “extremely strong” balance sheet.
Operations: Nova strengthens, Greenbushes improvement still in progress, Kwinana remains challenged
Vella said Nova’s half-year performance was a highlight, describing better production, lower costs, improved safety and stable operations even as the mine enters its final 12 months. He said Nova generated cash through a difficult nickel price environment, helping fund broader portfolio activity, and management expects the team to maintain performance through the end of calendar 2026.
On Kwinana, Vella said the asset is “still ultimately underperforming,” missing plans and expectations “on all fronts,” and he reiterated there was no change in IGO’s outlook. In response to a question about options for Kwinana, Vella said discussions with the joint venture partner remain confidential, but IGO’s focus is to reduce net cash outflows “as quickly as possible,” adding the company does not want additional cash poured into an asset it does not believe has an economic future.
Greenbushes, Vella said, did not deliver a “stellar half,” though he emphasized it remains a world-class asset with strong EBITDA margins. He said sales volumes were impacted by shipment timing rather than demand, and stressed that lifting productivity, safety, and cost performance is a bigger and more complex task than at Nova.
Greenbushes: CGP3 ramp-up signals, optimization work, and future capacity
Management provided early commissioning commentary on the CGP3 lithium processing plant. Vella said the project lost some time due to early commissioning issues. He said January production was a “fraction” of an expected ~7 kiloton due to remediation work, but by mid-February the operation had already exceeded a planned 11 kiloton output for the month. He also cited a 24-hour period with 1,000 tons of production, ~60% average recoveries, and concentrate grades cited as above 5.5 up to 6, describing the indicators as encouraging while cautioning that ramp-up work remains.
Vella also discussed the recently released resource and ore reserve update, which he described as a “snapshot in time” as broader optimization work continues. Highlights he pointed to included a newly defined underground resource expected to come later in the mine schedule, and open pit changes enabled by additional geotechnical assessment. He said the revised pit design surfaces “just shy of 10% more metal” with a much lower strip ratio, which in turn affects waste management planning, costs, and capital requirements.
During Q&A, Vella said the sequence of improvement work at Greenbushes is focused on maximizing output from existing plants first—improving runtime, throughput per operating hour, and recoveries—before moving to larger capital projects. He said projects such as repurposing the tailings retreatment facility could help maintain capacity over time, with a new plant (CGP4) seen as the later-stage step once the mine’s sustainable feed rate and value equation are better defined.
On ore sorting, Vella said the method is technically suited to lithium ore (“largely black and white”), but the company is still studying maintainability and performance at scale, and how it could fit into mine planning and improve plant feed consistency.
Joint venture cash flows, dividends, and capital priorities
Asked about dividends and the impact of Greenbushes growth plans, Vella said he does not believe growth should require retaining “large amounts of cash” at the Greenbushes level and described Greenbushes as an asset that has historically generated cash through the cycle. He said the business would consider the scale and timing of dividends as cash builds, also taking into account potential debt paydown.
In a discussion about the joint venture cash waterfall, Vella said the first call on cash in TLEA is funding the existing operation, which includes Kwinana’s net cash demands, and after that cash is distributed to shareholders unless shareholders decide otherwise (for example, to fund growth).
Bozanic also addressed joint venture financial movements, noting CGP3 completion required cash and that some changes reflected timing effects, including a one-month pricing lag and longer payment terms. She said TLEA should see improvement in the second half based on current pricing. She added there was no update on the Australian Taxation Office determination discussed in the financial statements, saying the ATO is considering responses and the process is expected to progress over the next two quarters.
Looking ahead, Vella reiterated the company’s strategic focus on disciplined capital allocation and growth across battery materials, with emphasis on lithium and copper. He said IGO is shifting exploration toward a more targeted “fail fast” approach, with work continuing on lithium opportunities and “predominantly copper” target generation offshore in “good jurisdictions.”
About IGO (ASX:IGO)
IGO Limited operates as an exploration and mining company that engages in discovering, developing, and operating assets focused on metals to enable clean energy in Australia. It owns and operates a 100% interest in the Nova nickel-copper-cobalt operation located to the east northeast of Norseman in the Great Western Woodlands of Western Australia; a 100% interest in the Cosmos nickel operation located to the north of Leinster in Western Australia; and a 100% interest in the Forrestania nickel operation located to the east of Perth in Western Australia.
