From Performance Explosion to Value Release: Interpreting China's Nonferrous Mining Industry (01258) Mid-Term High Growth Code for 2026

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on the evening of August 21, China Nonferrous Mining (01258), a leading state-owned nonferrous mining company, released its 2026 interim results report. According to the report, the company relied on the complete layout of the entire copper and cobalt mining and smelting industry chain and high-quality overseas resource reserves to accurately grasp the industry opportunities where commodity prices such as copper and sulfuric acid rose at a high level in the first half of 2026, and achieved significant overall growth in many core indicators such as revenue, net profit, gross profit margin, and cash flow. The business performance reached a new phased high, showing strong business resilience and growth potential in the midst of industry cycle fluctuations.

Core performance flourished sharply, leading the industry in profit growth

In the first half of 2026, the global copper industry maintained a booming trend. According to industry data, the average domestic spot copper price rose 25.69% year on year in the first half of 2026. Luntong operated in a high range of 11,700-14,530 US dollars/ton throughout the year. The fluctuating trend of high copper prices brought sufficient profit room for mining and metallurgical enterprises. At the same time, the global supply of copper concentrate continues to be scarce, and the industry supply and demand pattern continues to be optimized to provide solid industry fundamentals for corporate performance growth.

Benefiting from industry dividends, China's nonferrous mining industry has achieved a sharp jump in various operating data. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating income of 2,261 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 29.1%; net profit of 623 million US dollars, a sharp increase of 67.7% year on year; profit attributable to company owners was 434 million US dollars, an increase of 64.7% year on year. The profit growth rate far exceeded the revenue growth rate, and profit quality made a qualitative leap forward. Earnings per share increased sharply at the same time. Basic earnings per share in the first half of the year reached HK$0.87, up 64.6% year on year, and the investment value of a single share continued to increase.

The significant increase in profitability stems from a significant improvement in the gross margin of the company's products. During the reporting period, the company's overall gross margin climbed from 32.6% in the first half of 2025 to 42.4%, an increase of nearly 10 percentage points. Among them, the gross margin of sulfuric acid products reached 81.6%, a sharp increase of 18.8 percentage points over the previous year; the gross profit margin of cathode copper was 58.6%, an increase of 12.8 percentage points over the previous year, and profit margin for core products was fully opened up, becoming the core driving force for the company's performance growth.

Stable and high-quality financial situation, outstanding cash flow and hematopoietic capacity

In addition to impressive profit data, the financial structure of China's nonferrous mining industry continues to be optimized, asset quality and cash flow levels have reached phased highs, and operating soundness has been further enhanced. As of the end of June 2026, the company's total assets reached US$5.754 billion, an increase of 19.8% over the end of 2025, and the asset scale was steadily expanding. The company's cash reserves are extremely abundant. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period reached US$2,017 million, an increase of US$540 million over the end of last year. Sufficient cash flow provides a solid financial guarantee for project investment, technological transformation, and dividend returns to shareholders.

Operating hematopoietic capacity has nearly doubled. The net cash generated by the company's operating activities reached US$1,043 million in the first half of 2026, an increase of 98.3% year-on-year over US$526 million in the first half of 2025. Operating profitability has greatly improved, and the authenticity and sustainability of profits has been fully verified. At the same time, China's nonferrous mining industry also continued to optimize inventory management. The inventory at the end of the period was 661.6 million US dollars, down 75.5 million US dollars from the end of last year. Inventory turnover efficiency improved, capital consumption was reduced, and operational efficiency continued to be optimized.

The whole industry chain works together, and the product structure is continuously optimized

As a comprehensive leading enterprise focusing on the development, smelting and sales of copper and cobalt resources, China's nonferrous mining industry has two core business segments: hydrometallurgy and pyrosmelting. Its main business covers the entire industrial chain such as mining, beneficiation, and smelting. It has significant advantages in industrial chain integrity and resource self-sufficiency, and can effectively withstand the risk of industry cycle fluctuations.

In the first half of 2026, the two core sectors of China's nonferrous mining industry simultaneously increased revenue and efficiency. The pyrosmelting sector achieved external sales revenue of US$1,394 million, accounting for 61.7% of total revenue; the hydrometallurgy sector achieved revenue of US$867 million, accounting for 38.3% of total revenue. The two major sectors complement each other and collaborate to establish the basic operating market of the company. On the product side, sales revenue for the company's core products cathode copper and sulfuric acid increased dramatically. Among them, revenue from cathode copper increased 39.2% year on year, revenue from sulfuric acid increased 48.1% year on year. At the same time, sales of high value-added products such as cobalt hydroxide and bismuth chloride were added to enrich the product matrix and optimize the profit structure.

Judging from the market layout, China's nonferrous mining product sales have now covered many countries and regions around the world. In addition to core markets such as Singapore, Africa, and Hong Kong, China's nonferrous mining industry also diversifies overseas markets, effectively diversifying market risks in a single region, ensuring stable product sales, and providing market support for continued growth in performance.

Accelerated project construction and sufficient long-term investment value

Based on long-term development, China's nonferrous mining industry continues to increase capital investment, promote the construction of key projects such as mineral production expansion, technological transformation, and environmental protection upgrades, continue to unleash production capacity potential, and consolidate the foundation for long-term development. The company's total capital expenditure in the first half of 2026 was US$123 million, focusing on core areas such as mine development, refining equipment upgrades, and environmental protection transformation.

At the level of key projects, core capacity expansion projects such as the Luanxia New Shallow and Deep Mine Project and the second phase of the Zhongye Non-Mine Southeast Ore Production Expansion Project are progressing steadily, and production capacity increases continue to be released. At the same time, the company promotes technical improvement projects such as environmental protection treatment of smelting flue gas and copper acid system optimization to continuously optimize production processes, reduce production costs, and enhance industrial competitiveness. Follow-up projects such as Gangbov Mining's MSESA ore development and the Chambisi wet samba copper mining and selection project are progressing in an orderly manner. It is expected to be put into operation one after another in 2028-2029, reserving sufficient momentum for the company's performance growth over the next 2-3 years.

With steady operating performance and sufficient cash flow, China's nonferrous mining industry continues to implement the concept of value return. The first interim dividend was paid in the first half of 2026, with a dividend of 1.1113 US cents per share, fully reflecting the company's good profit situation and determination to give back to investors. A stable dividend policy, continuous growth performance, and sufficient room for growth make the company have outstanding long-term investment value in the non-ferrous sector.

According to Huatai Futures data, there is a clear trend of global copper supply contraction in the second half of 2026. Demand for copper in emerging industries such as new energy photovoltaics, energy storage, and new energy vehicles will continue to rise. The tight balance between supply and demand in the copper market will continue, and copper prices are expected to maintain a high fluctuation trend.

As an overseas leader in high-quality copper resources, China's nonferrous mining industry will continue to seize the industry cycle dividends, rely on the advantages of the entire industry chain, continuous iterative capacity layout and steady financial conditions to achieve steady growth in business performance and continue to release corporate value.