A couple of years ago the Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price was trading at around $96.
Today, Mineral Resources shares are changing hands for about $25 a piece.
Image source: Getty Images
So, is it time to buy Mineral Resources shares?
Some investors clearly think that is the case.
Mineral Resources shares were up by more than 2% at one point on Thursday before heading back down.
And the Mineral Resources share price has gained about 15% over the past 2 weeks.
The gains have coincided with some positive news coming out of the company.
Mineral Resources announced that haulage operations resumed on its Onslow Iron haul road about a week ago following holdups based on safety concerns.
It seems Mineral Resources has managed to address those concerns, which were prompted by reports of six truck rollovers in the past year.
Adding to the week of good news for Mineral Resources shareholders, the miner also stated that its transhipping capacity from the Port of Ashburton had now increased to 28 million tonnes per annum.
Transhipping capacity basically refers to capacity to move goods, in this case iron ore, from one ship to another ship.
And back in May last year, Mineral resources announced it had plans to increase its annual transhipping capacity to 35 million tonnes per annum by early 2025.
At the time, Mineral Resources Executive General Manager of its Marine division, Jeff Weber, said the initial fleet of five, which is planned to grow to seven, "is set to be the largest and most sophisticated transhipping operation in Australia".
"The first two transhippers have arrived at the Port of Ashburton, the third arrives mid-2024, the fourth by the end of this year and the fifth in early 2025. Those five vessels will get us to an annual capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum."
It seems the arrival of the company's fourth transhipper has faced delays.
Still, if Mineral Resources can deliver on that target, both in terms of timeframe and haulage, its transhipping capacity will again significantly increase in the near future when another transhipper comes online.
What's the downside?
I won't go on about all the bad press that Mineral Resources has faced over the past year.
Although, there has been quite a bit.
And, while the company is much more than an iron ore miner with hands in energy, mining services and lithium, I won't go on about the price of lithium – which has tanked over the past year.
Nor will I dwell too much on Mineral Resources' latest half year result which were not well received by investors.
Still, it should be mentioned the company reported that its revenue dropped 9% to $2.3 billion while underlying net profit plunged 200% to $196 million.
It's not those numbers that trouble me too much.
I see a lot of upside in the Mineral Resources share price and now could be a great time to get in.
The thing with Mineral Resources that doesn't sit well with me is its debt.
The company reported net debt of $5.08 billion for 1H FY25 which had swelled from $4.4 billion for the prior corresponding period.
And that is a staggering figure, particularly for a company with a market capitalisation of about $4.8 billion.
Until I see Mineral Resources fix its balance sheet issues, I'm steering clear.
