Kenmare Resources (LON:KMR) reported lower first-half revenue and a loss after tax as weaker titanium minerals prices outweighed higher shipments and a reduction in cash operating costs.

Managing Director Tom Hickey said the company remained on track to meet its 2026 shipment guidance of 1.1 million tonnes, supported by a solid third-quarter order book and sales of its newer ZrTi concentrate product. However, Kenmare modestly reduced its full-year ilmenite production expectation to approximately 800,000 tonnes as the ramp-up of its upgraded Wet Concentrator Plant A, or WCP A, continued more slowly than expected.

Prices pressure revenue and earnings

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Chief Financial Officer James McCullough said Kenmare's average realized price fell 26% from the first half of 2025 and 31% from the second half of 2025 to $242 per tonne. Ilmenite prices declined to $203 per tonne from $286 per tonne a year earlier, while zircon prices fell to about $1,100 per tonne from around $1,300 per tonne.

Shipments rose 13% to 555,000 tonnes, but the volume increase did not offset lower pricing. Revenue declined 16% year over year. EBITDA was $4 million, while the company recorded a $34 million loss after tax.

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McCullough said the decline in the average realized price also reflected a changing product mix. Concentrates represented 20% of tonnes sold in the first half, up from 4% a year earlier, principally due to sales of ZrTi. While the product sells at a lower price than Kenmare's other products, he described ZrTi as a positive development because it is produced from tailings that had not previously been valued.

Kenmare sold more than 80,000 tonnes of ZrTi during the first half and produced 102,000 tonnes of the material for sale. The company said it expects the product to remain an important part of its revenue mix for years to come.

Cost reductions and liquidity focus

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The company reduced total cash operating costs by about $15 million, or 12%, to just under $110 million. Lower labor costs, reduced equipment rentals, and lower diesel and electricity consumption contributed to the improvement, McCullough said.

Unit costs nevertheless increased to $255 per tonne because lower production volumes provided fewer tonnes over which to absorb operating costs. Kenmare maintained its full-year cash-cost guidance of $215 to $225 per tonne and said first-half performance placed it near the midpoint of that range.