Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $286 million, up 78% from a year earlier, as higher metal prices, a recovery in Peruvian mining operations and improved Brazilian smelter performance lifted results. Net income was $98 million, or $0.52 per share, while net revenue rose 28% year over year to $908 million.
Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Rosado said the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin reached about 31%, supported by a favorable pricing environment across its metal portfolio. Silver prices averaged 117% higher than in the second quarter of 2025, according to the company, while zinc and copper prices also contributed to revenue and byproduct credits.
Mining Performance and Aripuanã Milestone
Mining zinc production totaled 79,000 tonnes during the quarter, an 8% year-over-year increase driven by higher ore grades at key operations. Sequential production was broadly flat, as recovering Peruvian operations offset temporary lower grades, the commissioning of a new tailings filter and scheduled maintenance at Aripuanã.
Mining net revenue was $524 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $220 million, representing a 42% margin. Cash costs net of byproducts were $0.04 per pound in the second quarter and negative $0.35 per pound for the first half, below the company’s 2026 guidance range. Nexa attributed the first-half result to stronger copper, silver and gold byproduct credits and lower treatment charges.
At Aripuanã, treated ore increased 33% year over year to 399,000 tonnes and zinc output climbed 44% to 8,800 tonnes. The company commissioned its fourth tailings filter during the quarter, a project intended to remove a production bottleneck and reduce exposure to weather-related disruptions during Brazil’s rainy season.
The new filter processed more than 50,000 tonnes of tailings and supported average plant feed rates of 249 tonnes per hour in June, or more than 86% utilization, according to Rosado. Peak daily rates exceeded 92%, although average utilization for the full quarter was 71%. Management said the operation is approaching nameplate capacity and expects a further production increase in the second half as the plant is adjusted to the higher throughput.
Nexa also implemented block caving at Cerro Lindo, which Rosado said should over time lower unit costs and improve access to higher-grade areas.
Smelting Impacted by Cajamarquilla Fire
Smelting zinc metal and oxide sales totaled 134,000 tonnes, down 7% from a year earlier and 8% sequentially. The declines primarily reflected a May fire at the Cajamarquilla smelter’s casting house. Nexa said upstream processing was not affected and that it continued producing cathodes while restoration work proceeded.
Operations returned to normal levels in June, and management expects cathode inventory built during the disruption to support recovery of affected sales volumes in the second half. Nexa maintained its full-year smelting sales guidance.
Smelting net revenue reached $584 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 162% year over year to $66 million, despite lower sales volumes. The company cited lower raw-material costs, including consumption of lower-cost calcine inventory, a higher share of concentrate from its own mines and increased byproduct contributions.
Smelting cash costs net of byproducts were $1.44 per pound in the quarter and $1.42 per pound for the first half, above the high end of annual guidance. Conversion cost of $0.36 per pound in the quarter was also slightly above guidance. Rosado attributed the higher costs to lower throughput following the fire, higher zinc prices affecting raw-material costs, and the appreciation of the Brazilian real. He said the company expects conversion costs to move back toward guidance as Cajamarquilla volumes recover.
Cash Flow, Capital Spending and Cerro de Pasco
Free cash flow was negative $10 million in the quarter, largely because of a $131 million payment related to a tax settlement in Peru concerning the Cerro Lindo Stability Agreement. Del Valle said the payment was required to preserve Nexa’s right to continue disputing the matter in Peru’s judicial system and did not constitute acceptance of the tax authority’s position. Excluding the payment, free cash flow would have been positive $120 million, he said.
Capital expenditures totaled $89 million in the quarter and $160 million in the first half. Nexa maintained its full-year capital expenditure guidance of $381 million and its exploration and project-evaluation guidance of $86 million.
The company reviewed the long-term configuration of its Cerro de Pasco Integration Project and now expects the Atacocha open pit to remain in operation longer than initially planned. As a result, Nexa deferred Phase 2 to 2032 and said it can spread capital expenditures over a longer period without reducing expected complex production.
Total estimated investment for the project increased to $180 million from $138 million, mainly due to a geomembrane lining at the Atacocha tailings facility, engineering updates and accelerating a tailings storage facility raise. The company’s 2026 project spending guidance remains $31 million, with incremental investment allocated to 2027 and later.
Management said it remains confident in its unchanged production guidance, while acknowledging that a potentially strong El Niño could affect transportation and infrastructure in Peru. Rosado said Nexa has prepared mitigation measures but noted that some factors are outside the company’s control.
About Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA)
Nexa Resources SA is a Brazil-based metals and mining company with a primary focus on zinc and copper. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NEXA, the firm develops, extracts and processes mineral resources for industrial applications worldwide. Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, Nexa is a leading participant in Latin America’s mining sector with a diversified portfolio of upstream and downstream operations.
The company’s operations span multiple mining and smelting complexes in Brazil’s Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso regions, as well as in Peru’s coastal and Andean zones.
