Shares in Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) (MinRes) fell 4% to $35.95 on Thursday after the company posted a $904 million loss as succession planning and iron ore setbacks dominate outlook
The loss caps a difficult 12 months marked by governance scandals, falling commodity prices and repeated operational setbacks, including another haul truck accident at its new iron ore operations.
The underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was down 15%, while revenue slipped 15% to A$4.47 billion. Net debt rose to A$5.3 billion at the end of June.
In a letter to shareholders, chairman Malcolm Bundey acknowledged investor concerns over succession, stressing that his “focus as chair is on ensuring that Chris’ succession is robust and carefully planned… This must be a process, not an event.” Ellison, a co-founder, has agreed to depart as managing director by April 2026 after apologising for scandals including tax evasion, misuse of company resources and related party transactions.
Ellison pledged to work with the board to “regain trust and deliver the full potential of this great company”, while conceding that misjudging lithium prices had severely impacted earnings and debt. He said the company had made progress on cost and performance, while future growth would hinge on the mining services division and the Onslow Iron project.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker noted that guidance was mixed, with mining services and Wodgina lithium volumes “a touch lower than consensus”. However, he highlighted that Onslow had achieved an annualised run rate of 35 million tonnes per annum for the past four weeks, with cost guidance suggesting MinRes should begin to de-gear in FY26.
Jarden analyst Ben Lyons described FY26 guidance as weaker than expected, pointing to lower production volumes, higher operating costs and a capital expenditure forecast of A$1.29 billion – A$140 million above prior guidance, with A$150 million expected to be asset-financed.