Metallium reports A$42.8 million loss and A$64.7 million cash

Texas platform advances, commercial proof remains ahead

Metallium Limited (ASX:MTM) has spent FY2026 turning Flash Joule Heating from a laboratory proposition into an industrial processing platform, increasing reactor scale roughly 400,000-fold from early 50 milligram experiments to systems handling about 20 kilograms. The more consequential test, however, is still to come: the group remains pre-revenue and says it will need further funding as it moves from commissioning into commercial deployment.

At the Gator Point Technology Campus in Texas, Metallium completed a 12-hour continuous commercial-scale campaign in May, followed by its first three-reactor campaign in June. The three units processed 18 batches and approximately 0.3 tonnes of material, recording 83% reactor availability and approximately 100% utilisation during active operation, with no safety incidents or lost-time injuries. The company says the campaign generated data on automation, controls, materials handling and engineering, but it did not yet establish commercial recovery rates, operating costs or sustainable margins.

The staged Texas plan now targets 8,000 tonnes per annum of PCB feedstock, up sharply from an original 350-tonne concept. Metallium had binding arrangements covering 4,000 tonnes per annum by May, including up to 2,400 tonnes from Glencore, while a 10-year initial-term offtake agreement with Indium Corporation covers gallium and germanium recovered from electronic scrap and other secondary materials. Those arrangements create a clearer commercial chain, but the target capacity remains planned rather than demonstrated sustained production.

Capital has funded the build-out, not yet the business

Metallium raised A$125 million before costs during the year, including a A$75 million institutional placement in January, leaving A$64.7 million in cash at 30 June 2026. The balance sheet also carried A$34.2 million of property, plant and equipment and A$27.2 million of intangible assets, reflecting the rapid build-out of the Texas site and capitalised development work on the FJH technology.

That financial strength sits alongside a much heavier cost base. The annual loss widened to A$42.8 million from A$31.8 million, while operating cash outflow reached A$17.0 million and investing cash outflow A$46.9 million. Administration expenses rose to A$13.6 million, employee expenses to A$6.7 million and share-based payment expense was A$20.7 million. The report explicitly identifies a material uncertainty around going concern because Metallium expects significant capital expenditure and relies on raising additional funds as required.

FY2027 shifts the test from scale to economics

Management’s stated FY2027 priorities are to commission and optimise Gator Point, increase reactor operating hours, integrate pre-processing and product recovery, secure the remaining feedstock and generate the technical and economic data needed for commercial decisions. First metal from the Stage 1 PCB operation is planned for June 2027. The company says performance will increasingly be judged by tonnes processed, recovery, product quality, cost per tonne and utilisation rather than reactor size alone.

The group is also pursuing FJH Nexus, a proposed extension into rare earths, red mud and other mineral residues. Its next stated target is continuous operation above 10 tonnes per day, a substantial step beyond the current reactor systems. Post year-end, Metallium reported that a 12-hour multi-reactor campaign was planned for September after a Texas permitting constraint was resolved, while an agreement with Environmental Clean Technologies introduced up to US$1.4 million in Phase 1 consideration and 20 million options. Those developments may provide useful tests of the platform’s breadth, but they do not remove the central financing and scale-up questions in the annual report.