Sumitomo posts $513 mln impairment loss for Ambatovy nickel, cobalt asset

Japan's Sumitomo Corp has suffered impairment losses of 55 billion yen ($513,705,000) from its investment in Madagascar's Ambatovy nickel and cobalt mine in its first financial quarter of 2020, the company said on Monday July 20.

The conglomerate, which owns a majority 47.7% stake in the asset, now values Ambatovy at less than its carrying cost, and has subsequently written off a significant portion of the asset's value.
Sumitomo estimates that it would be difficult to recover the carrying costs of the asset over the period due to production stoppages arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and a decline in the company's mid- to long-term nickel price outlook, which it declined to specify.

Instead, the company has opted to post an impairment loss for what...

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