By Dave Sherwood
SANTIAGO, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Chilean miner SQM SQMB.SN, the world’s No. 2 producer of lithium, stated on Thursday its earnings jumped within the second quarter as demand for electrical automobiles soared, boosting its gross sales volumes and the worth for the coveted battery steel.
The corporate reported second-quarter earnings of $89.eight million, or $0.31 per share, in contrast with $50.eight million, or $0.19 per share, within the year-ago interval. Earnings within the first half of 2021 have been up 65% over the primary six months of 2020, the corporate stated.
A resurgence in lithium demand helped spearhead the earnings progress, CEO Ricardo Ramos stated in a press release. He predicted the corporate’s gross sales quantity for the white steel may hit 95,000 tonnes in 2021, greater than beforehand thought, and stated costs would rise alongside demand.
“Our common lithium costs throughout the second quarter of 2021 have been nearly 20% greater in comparison with the primary quarter of 2021, as gross sales contracts signed final 12 months are expiring and the next proportion of our gross sales are invoiced primarily based on the present pricing situation,” Ramos stated.
The firm expects the worth of the lithium it sells to strategy $10,000 per tonne by the fourth quarter of 2021, executives stated in a convention name in a while Thursday.
Optimism within the lithium business has grown dramatically in contrast with final 12 months, when funding for mines and processing vegetation dried up throughout the coronavirus pandemic and prompted many to shelve growth plans.
SQM earlier this 12 months raised $1.1 billion in capital to assist underwrite tasks in Chile and Australia. The corporate now predicts world demand for lithium will enhance 40% in 2021 versus the earlier 12 months, and stated it may surpass 1 million tonnes by 2025.
SQM’s gross sales volumes for lithium within the second quarter alone jumped greater than 90%, the corporate stated.
The Chilean lithium producer expects to churn out 140,000 tonnes of the steel in 2022.
(Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Enhancing by David Holmes and Paul Simao)
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