Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) H2 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Advanced development of the Dubbo Project with all major approvals in place and construction readiness achieved, supported by significant progress in securing conditional debt funding from US EXIM ($600M), EDC (A$400M), and Export Finance Australia (A$200M).

• Korean Metals Plant (KMP) continued ramp-up, delivering NdPr metal and NdFeB alloy to customers, with new agreements and technical validation processes underway for global clients.

• Enhanced ESG credentials, achieving top 10% ESG Risk Rating in the diversified metals sector and maintaining carbon net zero for Scope 1 & 2 emissions at KMP.

Financial highlights

• FY24 sales revenue of $3.1M, down 30% year-over-year; gross profit of $609K.

• Net loss after tax reduced by 4% to $25.2M compared to FY23.

• Net assets decreased by 5% to $204.6M, with closing cash of $47.6M, down 16% from prior year.

• Inventory write-downs of $5.8M, lower than prior year.

Outlook and guidance

• Focus remains on securing offtake and equity funding to reach final investment decision (FID) for the Dubbo Project, targeting FID in 2026 and first production in 2028.

• Continued ramp-up and expansion of KMP to 3,600 tpa capacity aligned with customer demand.

• Ongoing RE Options Assessment to explore lower capital and phased construction pathways.