Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) delivered a bruising second-quarter that pairs record throughput at Kamoa-Kakula with a stark erosion in margins, cash generation, and leverage metrics.
Kamoa-Kakula booked $875 million in revenue, a 7% YoY jump from $817 million in Q2 2024 but a 10% drop from $973 million in Q1 2025. A jump in copper to 112,009 tonnes from 100,812 tonnes last year contributed to the increase. Again, the quarterly output is a drop sequentially from 133,120 tonnes.
Despite the revenue boost, EBITDA collapsed 41% year-over-year to $325 million, with margin shrinking to 37% from last year’s 67%. This is hammered by a cost of sales surge to $2.85 per pound of payable copper from Q2 2024’s $1.53 per pound, and an impairment-driven $59 million charge tied to May’s seismic event. Cash costs also climbed to $1.89 per pound–highest in the past year–compelling management to lift full-year guidance to $1.90–$2.20 per pound.
Those headwinds cut Ivanhoe’s consolidated profit to $35 million, down 48% from Q2 2024’s $67 million, while adjusted EBITDA fell 39% YoY to $123 million. Ivanhoe’s share of Kamoa-Kakula earnings plunged 82% to $15.7 million.
Founder Robert Friedland lauded the “extraordinary dedication” of underground teams, but conceded the mine is “working our way back towards full capacity.”
Copper sales of 101,714 tonnes again trailed production, lifting unsold inventory to 53,600 tonnes from 48,000 tonnes last year. Even so, the joint venture swung to a $169 million positive net cash flow thanks to a $128 million working capital release, after posting negative free cash flow in Q1.
Cash and equivalents ballooned to $672 million after January’s $750 million, 7.875 % senior-note issue.
At Kipushi, zinc sales rose 45% sequentially to 43,348 tonnes, generating $97 million in revenue, but a $6 million segment loss persisted as cost of sales averaged $1.05 per pound versus realized prices near $1.26 per pound.
Group capital outlays hit $571 million at Kamoa-Kakula in H1 and $109 million at Platreef, keeping Ivanhoe on track for a consolidated 2025 guidance spend of up to $1.6 billion at its flagship copper complex alone.
Copper guidance is now 370,000–420,000 tonnes for 2025, down from the original 520,000–580,000 tonnes, reflecting ongoing dewatering of Kakula’s eastern high-grade zones. The on-site smelter—Africa’s largest—is slated for September commissioning, but management cautions its cost relief “is unlikely to have a significant positive impact until ramp-up is advanced towards the end of the year.”
Ivanhoe Mines last traded at $11.02 on the TSX.
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