3 September 2025

Ecora Resources PLC

("Ecora", the "Group" or the "Company")

Half year results

Ecora Resources PLC (LSE/TSX: ECOR, OTCQX: ECRAF) announces half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 which are available on the Group's website at www.ecora-resources.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Marc Bishop Lafleche, Chief Executive Officer of Ecora, commented:

"The continued growth from our critical minerals portfolio is the highlight of these results, with our base metals portfolio delivering an 81% increase in contributions compared to the same period last year. This growth has been driven by the strong on-going ramp up at Voisey's Bay, the acquisition of a copper stream over the producing Mimbula copper mine, and record performance at the Mantos Blancos copper mine.

"We were delighted, post period end, to unlock significant value through the sale of the non-core, development stage Dugbe gold royalty, with total consideration of up to $20m. The $16.5m we will receive at close enables us to accelerate the Group's deleveraging and provides further flexibility to acquire cash generative royalties in our targeted commodity basket in time.

"2025 is proving to be a significant year for Ecora as we continue to pivot towards a revenue profile underpinned by a growing critical minerals portfolio, with copper at its core."

Financial highlights:

·      Total portfolio contribution in H1 2025 of $17.9m (H1 2024: $51.3m) with royalty and metal stream related revenue in H1 2025 of $15.8 million (H1 2024: $49.5 million), the decrease period-on-period reflects timing difference in the Group's mining area at Kestrel (FY 2025: weighted to H2, FY 2024 weighted to H1) 

·      81% increase in our base metals portfolio contribution of $8.7m (H1 2024: $4.8m) 

·      Adjusted earnings per share in H1 2025 of 1.27c (H1 2024: 10.38c)

·      Loss before tax in H1 2025 of $10.9m (H1 2024: profit $17.9m) reflects the timing of Kestrel volumes as outlined above

·      Net debt increased at 30 June 2025 to $124.6m (31 December 2024: $82.3m), following the Mimbula acquisition, resulting in a leverage ratio of 2.5x (31 December 2024: 1.5x)

·      Proforma net debt as at 30 June 2025 adjusted for the proceeds to be received from the sale of the Dugbe royalty of $16.5m, is $108.1m; cash flow expected to be generated in H2 2025 should drive further deleveraging

·      Interim dividend of 0.60 cents per share, equating to ~ 25% of free cash flow

¹ Includes ongoing metal purchase costs under stream agreements, for H1 these were: Voisey's Bay ($1.0m); Mimbula ($0.2m)

² In H1 2025, principal repayment totalled $1.6m and interest received totalled $0.6m (H1 2024: principal repayment totalled $1.7m and interest received totalled $0.8m)

³ Under IFRS 9, the royalties received from EVBC are reflected in the fair value movement of the underlying royalty rather than recorded as royalty income

Portfolio Highlights:

     Base metals

·      Voisey's Bay (cobalt):

o  140 tonnes of cobalt received in H1 2025, up 150% (H1 2024: 56 tonnes) as the ramp up of the underground mine continues to perform strongly

o  Average sales price realisation in H1 2025 of $16.5/lb (H1 2024: $16.0/lb)

o  Alloy grade prices have increased from $14.0/lb at the start of the period to $19.1/lb at the end of June 2025 as a result of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo imposing export restrictions, which have been extended to September 2025 when an announcement on a longer-term price support mechanism is expected

o  140 tonnes of attributable cobalt has been received in Q3 2025 to date, taking the current volume received YTD to 280 tonnes. The Group is narrowing its full year 2025 guidance from between 335 and 390 tonnes to between 365 and 390 tonnes

o  Planned maintenance period at Voisey's Bay mine scheduled for September 2025, with Long Harbour Processing Plant maintenance period to follow during Q4 2025

·      Mantos Blancos (copper):

o  A record six-month portfolio contribution of $3.8m was generated in H1 2025 (H1 2024: $2.8m) following the successful completion of a debottlenecking project in H2 2024, payable copper volumes increased to 26.3kt (H1 2024: 20.3kt; H2 2024: 22.9k)

o  Since achieving designed sulphide mill throughput capacity in November 2024, the plant has met or exceeded the design capacity in seven of the eight months up to the end of July 2025

o  2025 production is trending towards the upper end of Capstone Copper's production guidance (49-59kt)

·      Mimbula (copper):

o  A stream over the Mimbula copper mine was acquired in February 2025 for $50m

o  The Group receives its copper entitlement under the stream in the quarter following production, as a result FY 25 will have portfolio contribution for three quarters

o  Phase II expansion continues to advance, with the crusher installation now complete and in commissioning; exploration drilling ongoing at the site

·      Development projects

o  Santo Domingo (copper)

§ Capstone, the project owner and operator, has been advancing discussions with potential minority partners at the project level, recently announcing that it expects to announce a partner in Q3 2025

§ A potential project sanctioning decision is not expected prior to mid-2026

o  West Musgrave (nickel and copper)

§ BHP reiterated that it intends to review the decision to temporarily suspend its Western Australian Nickel (WAN) unit by February 2027; in July 2025 it stated for the first time that as part of the review it will assess the potential divestment of the WAN assets

o  Nifty (copper)

§ Cyprium Metals, operator of the project, has made significant progress towards first production of the Cathode Project and is targeting Phase 1 project sanction and final investment decision in Q3 2025

§ In August 2025, Cyprium announced a A$80m capital raising, the funds raised will be used to execute the phase one Cathode Project, strengthen the balance sheet, and complete the feasibility study for the Concentrate Project

§ Royalty payments to Ecora are not triggered until cumulative 800kt of copper has been produced from the mine, taking into account historical copper production this threshold is not expected to be reached until at least 5 years from production restarting

o  Caňariaco (copper)

§ Alta Copper, owner of project, announced a CA$1.5m private placing with Nascent Exploration Pty. LTD, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortescue Ltd., which increased Fortescue's holding in Alta Copper Corp to 35.9%

§ Alta Copper is now focusing on preparations for a drilling programme over the Caňariaco Sur and Quebrada Verde areas

Specialty metals & uranium

·      Maracás Menchen (vanadium)

o  Sales volumes at Maracás Menchen were 6.5Mlbs (H1 2024: 10.1Mlbs). Production volumes in Q2 2025 of 5.0Mlbs were up 74% on Q1 2025 as a result of the operational turnaround plan undertaken by the operator, Largo Inc., the results of which have been improved production volumes, higher recoveries and enhanced mine access to support future production

o  The average realised sales price for royalty payments was $7.47/lb in H1 2025 (H1 2024: $6.59/lb)

·      McClean Lake (uranium)

o  Production from the Cigar Lake mine, which feeds the McClean Lake Mill, totalled 10Mlbs in H12025, Cameco has a period of maintenance scheduled in H2 2025 and is on track to hit full year guidance of 18Mlbs

·      Four Mile (uranium)

o  Generated $0.9m of portfolio contribution in H1 2025 (H1 2024: $1.4m) as normal sales operations resumed following a period in H2 2024 of stockpiling inventory

·      Development and early stage

o  Phalaborwa (rare earths)

§ Rare earths have increased in strategic significance as part of the ongoing realignment of the longstanding global trade order and the establishment of an independent supply chain is a focal point for the US, the EU and aligned countries

§ In August, Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd, owner of the project, announced that tests have delivered an exceptionally pure mixed rare earth product that delivers a mixed rare earth carbonate average >55% total rare earth oxides (TREO), considerably exceeding the rare earth industry's typical refinery specification of > 42% TREO

§ A Definitive Feasibility Study is progressing well, and Rainbow is aiming to release the DFS before the end of 2025

o  Patterson Corridor East (uranium)

§ NexGen Energy continues to report exciting results from the drilling programme Patterson Corridor East

§ Assays returned from the discovery show intercepts ranking amongst the world's highest grade for basement hosted uranium vein projects

§ Further drilling is planned throughout the rest of 2025

§ In July 2025, NexGen acquired Rio Tinto's 10% production carried interest over 39 NexGen owned mineral claims (which mirror the mineral claims covered by Ecora's royalty interests) including those hosting the Patterson Corridor East discovery giving NexGen 100% ownership of its entire portfolio

Bulks and other

·      Kestrel (steelmaking coal)

o  Mining activity at Kestel remained outside of the Group's private royalty area for the majority of H1 2025, with only 400kt of saleable volumes registered

o  Operations returned to the Group's private royalty area at the end of Q2 2025 and are expected to remain in the Group's royalty area throughout Q3 2025 and into Q4 2025 with FY guidance for Ecora's attributable volumes remaining unchanged at 2.2mt - 2.3mt

Outlook

·      The growth in volumes from the critical minerals portfolio is set to continue through the second half of the year with Voisey's Bay performing strongly and the Mimbula mine continuing to ramp up

·      The lower end of the Voisey's Bay FY 2025 guidance increased from 335-390t of attributable cobalt to 365-390t of attributable cobalt

·      Acceleration of the US government's critical minerals strategy including sizeable equity investments, debt financing and growing stockpile of strategic minerals

o  US Department of Defense to tender for purchase of up to $500m of alloy grade cobalt stockpile over five years which could drive higher price levels; only four qualifying producers including Vale's Voisey's Bay mine

o  The tier one Phalaborwa rare earths project, with an existing indirect US government ownership, is well positioned to benefit from the US Department of Defense's active approach to securing rare earths supply

·      With mining at Kestrel returning to the Group's private royalty area, H2 2025 will also see a much stronger total portfolio contribution relative to H1 2025

·      Mantos Blancos Phase II study evaluating a brownfield expansion to increase mill throughput (targeting additional ~10ktpa of Cu over first 10 years) and a tailings reprocessing opportunity (potential to increase cathode production by ~25ktpa over 15 years) is due in 2026

·      The Santo Domingo project is expected to take a material step forward during H2 2025 with Capstone expected to announce a strategic partner for the development ahead of potential project sanctioning in 2026

·      Rainbow Rare Earths anticipate releasing the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Phalaborwa rare earths project, with the target for first production by end of 2027

·      The anticipated growth in volumes across the Group's portfolio of producing assets in H2 2025 should, at current commodity prices, enable the Group to further reduce net debt by year end

Analyst presentation

A live webcast of the presentation including Q&A will be held today at 2:00 pm BST for investors and analysts and will be available via our website at www.ecora-resources.com or on https://brrmedia.news/ECOR_HY_25.

This will be available for playback after the event.

Please join the event 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

For further information

Notes to Editors:

Alternative Performance Measures

Throughout this announcement a number of financial measures are used to assess the Group's performance. The measures are defined below and are non-IFRS measures because they exclude amounts that are included in, or include amounts that are excluded from, the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, or are calculated using financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with IFRS. The non-IFRS measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies and have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Group's operating results as reported under IFRS. The Group does not regard these non-IFRS measures as a substitute for, or superior to, the equivalent measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS or those calculated using financial measures that are calculated in accordance with IFRS.

Portfolio contribution

Portfolio contribution reflects the underlying performance of the Group' assets both in terms of those already in production and the timing of the Group's development royalties coming into production. Portfolio contribution is royalty and stream related revenue net of metal stream costs of sales, plus royalties received or receivable from royalty financial instruments carried at FVTPL and principal repayments received under the Denison financing agreement. Refer to note 18 of the condensed consolidated financial statements for portfolio contribution.

Operating profit

Operating profit represents the Group's underlying operating performance from its royalty and stream interests.  Operating profit is royalty and stream related revenue, less metal streams cost of sales, amortisation and depletion of royalties and streams and operating expenses. Operating profit excludes impairments and revaluations, and reconciles to 'operating profit before impairments and revaluations' on the income statement.

Adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share

Adjusted earnings represent the Group's underlying operating performance from core activities.  Adjusted earnings is the profit/loss attributable to equity holders plus royalties received from financial instruments carried at fair value through profit or loss, less all valuation movements and impairments (which are non-cash adjustments that arise primarily due to changes in commodity prices), amortisation and depletion charges, unrealised foreign exchange gains and losses, and any associated deferred tax, together with any profit or loss on non-core asset disposals as such disposals are not expected to be ongoing.  Adjusted earnings divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue gives adjusted earnings per share. Refer to note 3 of the condensed consolidated financial statements for adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share.

Net debt

Net debt is calculated as borrowings less cash and cash equivalents. Refer to note 11 of the condensed consolidated financial statements for details of the Group's borrowings and net debt.

Free cash flow and free cash flow per share

The structure of a number of the Group's royalty financing arrangements, such as the Denison transaction completed in February 2017, result in a significant amount of cash flow being reported as principal repayments, which are not included in the income statement. 

Free cash flow per share is calculated by dividing net cash generated from operating activities, plus principal repayments received under commodity related financing agreements, proceeds from the disposal of mining and exploration interests and finance income, less finance costs and lease payments, by the weighted average number of shares in issue.  Refer to note 16 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for free cash flow per share.

Cautionary statement on forward-looking statements and related information

Certain statements in this announcement, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and reflect the Group's expectations and views of future events. Forward-looking statements (which include the phrase 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) are provided for the purposes of assisting readers in understanding the Group's financial position and results of operations as at and for the periods ended on certain dates, and of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements may not be appropriate other than for purposes outlined in this announcement. These statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, cash flow, requirement for and terms of additional financing, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, objectives, strategies, growth and outlook of the Group including the outlook for the markets and economies in which the Group operates, costs and timing of acquiring new royalties and making new investments, mineral reserve and resources estimates, estimates of future production, production costs and revenue, future demand for and prices of precious and base metals and other commodities, for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods.

Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'believes', 'estimates', 'seeks', 'intends', 'targets', 'projects', 'forecasts', or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as 'may', 'will', 'aims', 'should', 'would' and 'could'. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain material factors that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including assumptions and analyses made by the Group in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. The material factors and assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based include: the stability of the global economy; the stability of local governments and legislative background; the relative stability of interest rates; the equity and debt markets continuing to provide access to capital; the continuing of ongoing operations of the properties underlying the Group's portfolio of royalties, streams and investments by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; no material adverse impact on the underlying operations of the Group's portfolio of royalties; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures (including feasibility studies, estimates of reserve, resource, production, grades, mine life and cash cost) made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; the accuracy of the information provided to the Group by the owners and operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the price of the commodities produced from the properties underlying the Group's portfolio of royalties, streams and investments; no material adverse change in foreign exchange exposure; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which the Group holds a royalty or other interest, including but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological formations and natural disasters; successful completion of new development projects; planned expansions or additional projects being within the timelines anticipated and at anticipated production levels; and maintenance of mining title.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended in the forward-looking statements. Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. No statement in this communication is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, a profit forecast or a profit estimate.

By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate; that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.

A variety of material factors, many of which are beyond the Group's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Group, its businesses and investments, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by any forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to current global financial conditions, royalty, stream and investment portfolio and associated risk, adverse development risk, financial viability and operational effectiveness of owners and operators of the relevant properties underlying the Group's portfolio of royalties, streams and investments; royalties, streams and investments subject to other rights, and contractual terms not being honoured, together with those risks identified in the ''Emerging Risks' and 'Principal Risks and Uncertainties' section of our most recent Annual Report, which is available on our website. If any such risks actually occur, they could materially adversely affect the Group's business, financial condition or results of operations. Readers are cautioned that the list of factors noted in the sections of our most recent Annual Report entitled 'Emerging Risks' and 'Principal Risks and Uncertainties' are not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Group's forward-looking statements. Readers are also cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date hereof.

The Group's management relies upon this forward-looking information in its estimates, projections, plans and analysis. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Group believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made and, except as specifically required by applicable laws, listing rules and other regulations, the Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

This announcement also contains forward-looking information contained and derived from publicly available information regarding properties and mining operations owned by third parties. This announcement contains information and statements relating to the Kestrel mine that are based on certain estimates and forecasts that have been provided to the Group by Kestrel Coal Pty Ltd ("KCPL"), the accuracy of which KCPL does not warrant and on which readers may not rely.