Hastings Technology slumps, Macquarie downgrades on rare earths project cost rise

Hastings Technology Metals

01/06/2023 04:00

** Analysts at Macquarie Research downgrade rating on rare
earths firm Hastings Technology Metals Ltd  HAS.AX  to "neutral"
from "outperform", cuts price target to A$1.70 from A$2.70
    ** HAS on Wednesday announced a staged development strategy
for its Yangibana rare earths project in Gascoyne region of
Western Australia
    ** HAS extends losses for a second straight day, down up to
20.6% after a 17% rout in the prior session
    ** Raises stage 1 capital cost estimate by 40% to A$470 mln
($306 mln), with total project capital cost estimate touching
A$948 mln
    ** Macquarie says stage 1 cash cost is 44% higher than its
base case
    ** Higher costs and removing stage 2 from base case results
in Macquarie cutting its earnings forecast
    ** "Higher payability and operating costs have materially
reduced the economic case for stage 2 using Macquarie rare earth
price forecasts" - Macquarie 
    ** Brokerage says forecast loss widens for FY23-FY25 while
earnings fall 35-68% for FY26-FY30
    ** HAS at its lowest since mid-May 2020 on Thursday; marks
worst day since March 18, 2020


($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))