Merdeka Battery Materials spends IDR 58.18 billion: meaning for Merdeka Battery Materials stock

Published on 10/19/2026 at 10:23 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Merdeka Battery Materials drilled 1,607 holes over 41,289 meters in Q3 2026. Merdeka Battery Materials stock saw USD 1.05 billion first-half revenue.

Exploration and earnings context

Merdeka Battery Materials allocated IDR 58.18 billion to third-quarter 2026 exploration on October 15, 2026.
First-half 2026 revenue reached USD 1.05 billion, up 67 percent year over year.
BRI Danareksa set an IDR 710 target on September 29, 2026.

Merdeka Battery Materials, ID1000188303, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Merdeka Battery Materials (ISIN ID1000188303) allocated IDR 58.18 billion to exploration at its Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral mine during the third quarter of 2026. The October 15, 2026 report also said the company had completed 1,607 core holes covering 41,289 meters, giving investors a measurable read on its effort to extend nickel resources. Kontan reported the figures.

Exploration adds a longer runway

The exploration program is aimed at defining mine-life resources and improving confidence in existing mineral estimates. The company is using infill drilling, geological mapping, surface sampling and geophysical surveys at the Konawe operation.

For investors, the scale of the work matters because the current operating base is already expanding rapidly. First-half 2026 nickel ore production reached 15.2 million wet metric tonnes, up 121 percent from 6.9 million wet metric tonnes in the same period of 2025, while ore sales rose 60 percent to 12.4 million wet metric tonnes, according to Tirto.

What does the earnings base show?

First-half 2026 revenue reached USD 1.05 billion, up 67 percent year over year. Net profit rose to USD 54 million from USD 6 million, an increase of 800 percent on those reported figures, while EBITDA climbed 306 percent to USD 311 million. The financial statements for the period were listed by Merdeka Battery Materials.

The main counterweight is the execution burden in the downstream battery-materials business. BRI Danareksa said on September 29, 2026, that stronger ore margins cushioned pressure ahead of the HPAL ramp-up, while it maintained a Buy view and set an IDR 710 target. BRI Danareksa Sekuritas also cited lower nickel-price assumptions and higher costs as constraints on its forecast.

Three milestones since June

On June 29, 2026, first-quarter revenue reached USD 455.10 million; on September 25, 2026, the company reported first-half revenue of USD 1.05 billion, according to its investor-relations materials and Tirto. On October 15, 2026, MBMA disclosed IDR 58.18 billion of third-quarter exploration spending through Kontan.

Execution remains the key variable

Merdeka Battery Materials enters the second half of 2026 with higher mining volumes, stronger first-half earnings and a resource-definition program that still requires further drilling and evaluation. The combination gives the stock a clear operating theme: growth depends on converting expanding ore output into consistent battery-materials profitability.