Western Mining Co.,Ltd. (SH601168) disclosed its 2025 annual report on the evening of March 25. For the full year 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 61.687 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 3.643 billion yuan, up 24% year-on-year. However, on a quarterly basis, the fourth quarter of 2025 saw operating revenue of 13.244 billion yuan, a sequential decrease of 21.3% from the third quarter. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 697 million yuan, marking a sequential decline of 35.2%.
The annual report revealed that the Phase III project of the Yulong Copper Mine, which is closely watched by investors, received approval in June 2025. The infrastructure construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Upon completion, the ore processing capacity of the mine will increase from 22.8 million tons per year to 30 million tons per year.
The company stated that its main operational indicators reached record highs in 2025, achieving the goals set out in the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Regarding quarterly performance, operating revenue in Q4 2025 was 13.244 billion yuan, compared to 16.823 billion yuan in Q3, representing a 21.3% sequential decline. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 697 million yuan, down 35.2% from 1.076 billion yuan in the previous quarter.
In 2025, the overall prosperity of the non-ferrous metals industry recovered. According to the annual report, the average annual price of copper in 2025 was 83,000 yuan per ton, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year. During the fourth quarter, the copper price once broke through the 100,000 yuan per ton mark, reaching a high of 102,700 yuan per ton. The average annual price of zinc was 22,800 yuan per ton, down 3.7% year-on-year. The average annual price of gold was 808 yuan per gram, surging 42.2% year-on-year. The average annual price of silver was 10,600 yuan per kilogram, a significant increase of 42% year-on-year.
In terms of product revenue structure, copper products generated operating revenue of 43.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.05%, accounting for over 70% of total operating revenue, with a gross profit margin of 16.89%. Zinc products achieved revenue of 3.825 billion yuan, up 24.55% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 28.95%, an improvement of 7.28 percentage points from the previous year. Gold ingot revenue reached 3.847 billion yuan, a substantial increase of 23 times year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 5.27%. Silver ingot revenue was 1.961 billion yuan, up 9.5 times year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 9.51%. Lead products generated revenue of 2.37 billion yuan, a significant increase of 146.48% year-on-year, but the gross profit margin decreased by 43.35 percentage points to 28.34%. Iron products achieved revenue of 984 million yuan, a slight decrease of 4.07% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 31.96%.
In terms of production output, the company produced 167,500 tons of mine copper, 128,800 tons of mine zinc, 630,000 tons of mine lead, and 1.4053 million tons of iron concentrate in 2025. It also produced 334,200 tons of smelted copper, 154,100 tons of smelted lead, and 152,100 tons of smelted zinc. Some products did not meet their full-year planned production targets. Mine lead and silver contained in concentrate fell short due to lower ore processing volume and feed grade than planned. Iron concentrate output was below target due to lower ore processing volume. Outputs of smelted copper, lead, and zinc were affected by planned shutdowns.
Regarding the progress of the Yulong Copper Mine Phase III project, the annual report confirmed its approval in June 2025, with infrastructure construction expected to finish by the end of 2026. The project will boost the mine's ore processing capacity from 22.8 million tons per year to 30 million tons per year. In terms of resource reserves, the Yulong Copper Mine added 1.3142 million tons of copper metal resources and 107,700 tons of associated molybdenum metal resources in 2025. As of the end of 2025, the Yulong Copper Mine held proven reserves of 1.2 billion tons of copper, with an average grade of 0.49%.
Regarding the Anhui Chating Copper Polymetallic Mine, Yulong Copper Industry, a controlling subsidiary of the company, secured the exploration rights for the mine with a bid of 8.609 billion yuan in 2025. The full payment was made, and the exploration license was obtained in January 2026, followed by the acquisition of the exploration permit in February.
For its salt lake chemical business, the company produced 147,000 tons of high-purity magnesium hydroxide raw powder in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 28%.
For 2026, the company plans to produce 172,000 tons of mine copper, 63,400 tons of mine lead, 127,600 tons of mine zinc, and 2.216 million tons of iron concentrate. It also plans to produce 324,400 tons of smelted copper, 139,700 tons of smelted lead, and 180,600 tons of smelted zinc. The company has set operational targets of 58 billion yuan in operating revenue and 6 billion yuan in total profit for 2026.
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