Mining Company EBITDA Surges 98% Amid Peak Rainy Season

Buma International Group (IDX: DOID) reported improved operational and financial performance in Q1 2026. Despite the highest seasonal rainfall typically challenging mining operations, the company increased EBITDA by 98% year-on-year to $28 million from $14 million in the same period last year. Revenue fell 10% to $318 million compared to Q1 2025, primarily due to a reduced active contract portfolio following the completion of several projects in Indonesia and Australia. EBITDA margin rose significantly to 11% from 5% previously, driven by improved productivity, cost control, and operational discipline. Iwan Fuad Salim, Director of Buma International Group, stated: ‘Q1 2026 demonstrated that the operational recovery built throughout 2025 continued despite the seasonally challenging quarter. EBITDA nearly doubled year-on-year despite lower revenue, supported by stronger cost discipline and improved productivity.’ Non-productive hours fell 14% year-on-year due to improved road management, material disposal areas, and geological challenges. BCM productivity per hour increased by 1%, while operational cycle time decreased by 1%. Unit costs per BCM fell by 1%, labour costs per BCM decreased by 4% due to improved work discipline and operator deployment efficiency. Fuel costs per BCM rose 3% due to higher fuel prices, despite stable consumption levels. Repair and maintenance costs increased 13% as the company accelerated fleet maintenance programmes ahead of a drier operational quarter. Overburden removal volume in Q1 2026 reached 89 million bank cubic meters (MBCM), down 12% year-on-year. Coal production was 15 million tonnes, down 20% year-on-year. The volume decline was mainly due to contract completions at Binungan in Indonesia and Burton in Australia, as well as reduced activity at two other mines during 2025. However, the company stated operations at active sites remained stable. Entering Q2, BUMA reported a continued recovery trend. Combined overburden removal volume in Indonesia and Australia rose from 26.4 MBCM in February to 30.4 MBCM in March and 34.3 MBCM in April. Coal production in April reached 5.9 million tonnes, around 22% above the Q1 2026 monthly average. The company also reduced net losses to $24 million, a 66% improvement from the $70 million net loss in Q1 2025. The improvement was driven by higher EBITDA, a $12 million gain from land asset sales under the ACG portfolio optimisation programme, reduced investment losses of $12 million at 29Metals, and no bad debt provisions in Australia compared to the previous year. Capital expenditure in Q1 2026 was $20 million, focused on maintaining fleet reliability and operational sustainability. Free cash flow turned positive at $2 million, compared to -$19 million in the same period last year. In workplace safety, BUMA recorded zero fatalities across all operations in Q1 2026. The company also reported increased proactive hazard reporting as part of strengthening its safety culture. Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Indonesia fell 13.3% year-on-year at comparable production levels. The decline was supported by improved operational efficiency and reduced emission intensity at key mining sites. Meanwhile, non-thermal coal revenue contributed 21% to the group’s total income in Q1 2026. Iwan stressed the company would focus on sustaining recovery momentum through enhanced operational execution and leveraging its centralised expert team. ‘The foundation is now in place, and our focus moving forward is solid execution as we enter a drier operational quarter,’ he said.