Photo: Ma'aden
Saudi Arabia's biggest miner is cutting back what it plans to spend this year, even as its gold and aluminium businesses had record quarters.
Ma'aden expects full-year capital spending to be about $1 billion lower than it guided earlier this year, management told analysts on a third-quarter earnings call on Monday.
The company had set 2026 capital spending at about 15.5 billion Riyal ($4.1 billion) in March, with 12.6 billion Riyal of it for growth projects.
What the plan covered
Those projects included finishing and commissioning the first phase of Phosphate 3, further work on the Ar Rjum gold mine, and an aluminium recycling center.
The quarter
Revenue rose 11% to about $3 billion, but EBITDA, a measure of operating earnings, fell 24%. Higher sulfur costs squeezed the phosphate business, even as production recovered from a sulfur shortage in the second quarter.
What went right
Aluminium revenue rose 32% to $985 million, and gold revenue 49% to $596 million. Gold output rose 22% to 139,000 ounces.
Chief Executive Officer Bob Wilt said both the gold and aluminium units had record financial results.
Why it matters
Ma'aden is central to the kingdom's push to make mining a third pillar of the economy. A smaller spending plan means fewer or later contracts for the builders and equipment suppliers working on its mines and plants.
