Kenmare boss leaves door ajar for another approach
managing director Tom Hickey has had more facetime and eartime with investors than he might have expected when he stepped into the role almost 11 months ago.
Hickey told Peel Hunt analyst Peter Mallin-Jones on a podcast in recent days that he has been on to holders of more than 60 per cent of the stock since he told his predecessor,
Michael Carvill
, and Abu Dhabi private equity firm Oryx Global Partners to take a hike last week. They had made it clear they would only proceed with a bid that was below their initial £473 million (€553 million) proposal in early March.
The investors were 'very comfortable' with the board's decision to walk away from talks, he said, adding that the process was useful at 'shining a light on the value' of the titanium minerals miner, which operates the Moma mine in Mozambique, where it has been producing for the past two decades. Moma has a lifespan of a further century, according to the company, based on its current output.
'They may come back, or somebody else may come along. Who knows,' he said. 'There are no sacred cows in Kenmare.' He insisted that the board would support a deal if the 'right value' were pitched.
READ MORE
[
Kenmare ends takeover talks with former MD and Abu Dhabi firm after they lower bid price
Opens in new window
]
Hickey's not tapping his fingers waiting, though. The managing director reiterated an interest in Kenmare buying another asset in the medium term. 'Whether it's an exploration asset, a development, or a production asset, who knows,' he said.
Carvill and Oryx's original offer of £5.30 per share was rejected in March as undervaluing the company. However, Kenmare allowed the consortium access to its books to carry out due diligence, with a view to improving its bid.
Carvill told The Irish Times the lower proposal was partly down to concerns about titanium minerals prices as the global economic outlook has deteriorated since the initial bid approach, amid concerns about the Trump administration's trade policies and escalating conflict in the Middle East. It also reflected how the Mozambique government is seeking higher mineral processing and exporting royalties from Kenmare.
Kenmare's main product is ilmenite, which is used in the manufacture of everything from paints and plastics to ceramics and textile.
While Hickey said that Kenmare had hoped that titanium mineral prices would bottom out this year, having fallen back from peak in 2022, he now reckons that has been pushed out into 2026. At least that's the hope.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Are prize bonds still a good investment?
I have been a steady holder of prize bonds over the last number of years, and, together with winnings, have built up a fair amount. A few months ago, State Savings changed their policy by introducing larger prizes each week. (€50,000 each Friday, with €500,000 on the last Friday of the month). This has reduced dramatically the number of winners, and it has become like a lottery, except you do not lose your money! This has probably been further influenced by interest reductions. State Savings also started to notify winners by email, as well as sending winnings by mail the following Tuesday/ Wednesday. I am disturbed to see emails used to be sent at 2.40pm on the Friday, but now have become totally irregular, sometimes taking a few days. READ MORE As this prize-winning has become a lottery, are there independent observers as for the National Lottery, and previously with the Irish Sweepstakes? In addition, has the holding of brize bonds, lost its attractiveness? Mr M.T. Are prize bonds a good investment? That seems to be the kernel of your query. To be fair, your personal experience, at least until recently, appears to suggest they have been for you. I'm not sure that's a universal view. Certainly, in recent years, prize bond investors have been voting with their feet and walking away. Figures released a couple of weeks ago show that just shy of €351 million of new prize bonds were sold last year. That's a sharp 28 per cent fall on the previous year. That 2023 figure was itself down 20 per cent year-on-year and annual sales are now less than half the €735.7 million sold at the company's peak during Covid in 2020. An even bigger number came from people selling their investments. Requests for repayment came to €538.2 million last year. That is up just over 1 per cent year-on-year but 90 per cent up over the past five years. Having fallen for the first time in a decade in 2023, the overall prize fund fell for a second successive year. For all the company's guff about the figures 'reinforcing the product's long-standing appeal as a unique and secure savings choice', they're clearly worried. The number of prizes awarded last year was up more than 53 per cent and that followed a 31 per cent rise the previous year. There was an even bigger jump in the value of those prizes – 89 per cent last year on top of a 51 per cent rise in 2023 – bringing them to a level not seen since 2012. You talk about changes in the prize structure but those are not that recent. They date back to October 2023 and in fact the number of prizes on offer has increased sharply in recent years as you can see above. The key factor affecting the number of prizes is not the headline figure for prizes at each level but the interest rate that determines the size of the prize fund. This is currently 1 per cent – hardly over generous but almost three times the 0.35 per cent rate that applied immediately before October 2023. The other factor, obviously, is the size of the fund and that, as the figures show, is falling in recent years. Essentially, 1 per cent of the fund is given in prizes each year. As the top prizes – €500 and above – are set, the real difference is in the number of €75 prizes drawn each week. So, what are your odds? With 713.6 million prize bonds in issue at the end of last year, your chances of winning a prize in any draw is comfortably more than 20,000/1 – on the basis of the minimum investment in bonds of €25 for four €6.25 bonds. Winning the weekly jackpot is a 178.4 million-to-one shot. For comparison, the chances of winning the jackpot in the Lotto since 2015 when it was expanded to 47 numbers is one in 10.74 million – although, in fairness, as least you do not lose your stake with the prize bonds. Clearly, the more bonds you hold, the better the odds, though they are still fairly daunting. If you don't win, you do have the right to get your investment back at full face value but it will be worth less than when you bought those bonds due to inflation. Inflation over the past five years in Ireland means that the €25 you choose to withdraw this year by redeeming that minimum level of prize bond investment is worth just €20.20 in buying power – barely 80 per cent of what it was if you bought those bonds back in 2020. If you bought the bonds back in 2000, your €25 is worth just under €15 in terms of 2025 prices. So for the hundreds of thousands of bondholders who do not win a prize, this is a poor investment. If that gives the impression that I'm not a massive fan, you'd be right. Unless you are averse to taking any level of risk at all, you'd be better looking elsewhere. Even the risk-averse can get a better return on their cash with other State Savings options – unless they're lucky, and then we're back to the Lotto analogy. Oversight As to oversight, the Prize Bond Company is apparently a joint venture between An Post and Fexco to run the scheme on behalf of the State – or more precisely the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) , which is the State agency charged with managing the State's debt. An official from the NTMA oversees each weekly draw, which is done electronically – with the numbers generated randomly – and the results of those draws are apparently then analysed by another company that specialises in statistical and data validation, according to the Prize Bond Company. At the time of writing, the most recent draw was the last weekly draw in June when there were a total of 8,823 prize-winners who shared almost €1.24 million in prizes. Obviously this was skewed by the monthly €500,000 win. The prize fund in other weekly draws is just shy of €740,000. Once a month (the final draw of the month), there is one winner of €500,000, as you say. Otherwise, there is a weekly winner of €50,000, 20 winners of €1,000 each, and another 20 who get €500. After that there is a much larger number of winners of €75. How many precisely is based on the size of the price bond fund. As of now, it is 8,781 winners each week. Prizes are paid into your bank account if that is the option you have chosen or, as a default, used to purchase more prize bonds. Part of the issue, especially for people with small holdings of prize bonds, is that they are passive investments, rarely looked at. The Prize Bond Company does notify winners by post and, more recently, by email but if you have not updated your details with the Prize Bond Company – and especially if the bonds were acquired before email details were relevant – any information about winnings may have gone to a long-irrelevant address and the bin. This is especially true, I'm guessing, for people who were not active buyers of bonds but who received them instead as gifts from family. Clearly, that group does not include you but, for other readers, that is why it is important if you own prize bonds to make sure the operators have your correct details. You can find and download a change of address/change of name form here . What happens any unclaimed prizes? After six months, they are put in a special fund of unclaimed prizes. A winning bondholder can still claim that prize at any time. At the end of last year, there was €3.4 million in unclaimed prizes. That might sound like a lot but when you consider that €45.6 million was issued in prizes last year alone and that the unclaimed prize fund dates back to 1957, it's clear the vast majority of prizes do find their way to the bond owners. You can check with the Prize Bond Company by phone or online and the site also has a Check My Numbers feature although this can be a little more finicky. So is it worth the investment? The bottom line is that the State is paying just 1 per cent 'interest' for 'borrowing' the money you pay for the prize bonds. And unless you're a winner, you're not even getting the benefit of any part of that 1 per cent. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to , with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
EirGrid says average home pays €9.75 per-month for its services as it pitches investment plan
National electricity grid operator EirGrid says the average home pays €9.75 a-month for its services in a plan seeking go-ahead to invest in its system. Regulators are proposing to allow EirGrid and fellow State company ESB Networks invest an initial €14.1 billion over the next five years to overhaul the systems that bring electricity from power stations to more than two million customers. Eirgrid's submission to the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) calculates that it could need between €4 billion and €7.6 billion to expand the electricity grid to meet growing demand and take on more renewables, among other things. The company calculates that its operations amount to €117 a-year, €9.75 a-month, from the total average household electricity bill, which it estimates at slightly more than €1,900, including VAT. READ MORE That comes to around 6 per cent of what Irish families pay every year for electricity, according to its figures. EirGrid and ESB Networks combined sought the CRU's backing for investment plans totalling €19 billion from next year to 2030. The commission said this week it would allow them €14.1 billion initially, but could increase this up to €19 billion should both companies show that they are meeting targets and budgets. This could cost the average customer from €6 to €16 a-year extra for electricity, the CRU calculates. Michael Behan, Eirgrid's chief financial officer argued on Thursday that the review of its spending plans was an opportunity to invest in the Republic's future. 'Investment in our grid infrastructure and the capacity and capability of EirGrid to fulfil its critical role is fundamental to unlocking greater energy independence and security, as well as supporting national and regional economic growth,' he said. Its plans include updating existing power lines, putting in new overhead and underground lines, upgrading existing substations and building new ones. The CRU has allocated EirGrid €2.6 billion of the €14.1 total allowed to the two companies. The commission intends monitoring their progress, only allowing them exceed the initial investment that it has approved if they show they are meeting targets and keeping their plans on track. EirGrid and ESB Networks sought approval for the investment in a process dubbed 'Price Review 6″. Both will have to increase their charges to help pay for their expansion plans, adding to customers' bills. Households and businesses cover network costs through a standing charge on their bills that is separate from the actual cost of their electricity.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Cost of motor insurance surges and more cuts at Microsoft
The cost of motor insurance claims jumped by almost one quarter in the 12 months to the middle of last year, new figures published by the Central Bank suggest. Conor Pope reports. Staying with costs, homes and businesses face electricity bill increases of up to €16 a-year if regulators approve State companies' plans to spend billions boosting the Republic's power networks. Barry O'Halloran has the details. Microsoft began its third round of job cuts this year across its global operations on Wednesday as it looks to shed an additional 9,000 workers, including some in Ireland, in a bid to control costs. Ian Curran reports. The flow of multinational investment into Ireland accelerated in the first six months of 2025 despite the uncertainty around US tariffs. IDA Ireland's latest half-year report said the agency supported 179 investments in the six months to June with the potential to create more than 10,000 jobs. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports. READ MORE In Net Results, Emmet Ryan highlights why the EU's plan to access phone messages is hairbrained, even if the intention is a good one. Cantillon looks at how AI is already impacting jobs at big tech firms while also beaking down the Central Bank's report on insurance costs. Irish fintech Fenergo is set to create 300 jobs in Dublin as part of a €100 million global expansion which will see 500 jobs created globally. 'This recruitment initiative is really to solidify our position as the number one in the global market in the financial technology and financial crime space,' Fenergo founder and chief executive Marc Murphy told The Irish Times' Hugh Dooley. In Inside Business , host Ciaran Hancock looks at the phenomenon of the D4 farmer. Not some wealthy entrepreneur herding cattle in Ballsbridge but wealthy individuals buying up farmland around the country as a wheeze to reduce the inheritance tax bills for their children. How does the tax break work? What impact will it have on land prices? And is anything being done to change it? He speaks to Fiona Reddan of the Irish Times and Marty Murphy, head of tax at IFAC Ireland. US president Donald Trump wants Apple to move production out of China and back to the US, but the tech firm is expanding operations in India. Here's how it is doing it. In Innovators to Watch, Olive Keogh meets an Irish tech firm that promises to slash cybersecurity audit times with AI. Ireland's services sector suffered 'a significant loss of momentum ' at the halfway mark of 2025, according to new data from AIB. Activity, new business, and employment all rose 'only modestly', the bank said in its monthly pulse-check of the sector. Colin Gleeson has the story. Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to construct three new data centres in north Dublin that 'will have no significant impact on climate'. Gordon Deegan has read the plans. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
