Levent to the 1st quarter results, says capacity expansion is on the way

Lithium Miner Livent (NYSE:LTHM) posted a 56 percent increase in revenue over the same period last year, exceeding expectations and raising the forecast for the full year due to rising lithium prices.

Livent’s revenue for the first quarter reached $ 143.5 million, up 17 percent from the last quarter of 2021. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $ 53.3 million, up 94 percent.

“Strong growth in lithium demand continued in 2022,” said Paul Graves, president and CEO of Livent. said Tuesday (May 3). “Published lithium prices in all forms have risen rapidly amid very difficult market conditions, and Livent continues to achieve higher realized prices across its entire product portfolio.”

Last year, lithium prices rose amid strong demand from the outside electric vehicle (EV) industry.. Until in 2022 prices have risen more than 129 percent, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

As a result of improved pricing, the Philadelphia-based company revised its projected revenue to $ 755 million to $ 835 million by 2022 and adjusted EBITDA to $ 290 million to $ 350 million.

On Tuesday, the Argentine-focused company also said it continues to supply all previously announced capacity expansion. Livent is currently evaluating the third part lithium carbonate an extension that will reach 100,000 metric tons (MT) of lithium carbonate equivalent by the end of 2030.

The miner said he also expects to add another 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide to the new location in China by the end of 2023. In addition, Livent is now estimating the launch of a new lithium processing plant located in Europe or North America that could produce 10,000 tons of lithium hydroxide by the end of 2025. In addition, the company’s expansion of 5,000 tons in the city of Bessemer is almost complete.

Levent estimates that by the end of 2025, the total capacity of lithium hydroxide will be at least 55,000 tons, which is more than twice the existing capacity of 25,000 tons. This excludes any power from Nemaska ​​Lithium in which the company is located doubled its share of ownership earlier this week. The project in Quebec has a capacity of 34,000 tons.

The company Livent from Philadelphia operates its lithium business in Salar del Hombre Muerta in Argentina, where it has been extracting material for more than 20 years. The lithium carbonate produced serves as a raw material for the production of lithium hydroxide, which is produced by Livent. Currently, Livent also manufactures qualified lithium hydroxide for batteries in both the US and China.

The company’s share price jumped by more than 23 percent in the first quarter and rose by almost 5 percent over the same period last year. Another USA, Canadian and Australianlithium reserves also saw profits from the beginning of the year.

As of 12:00 pm on EDT Wednesday (May 4), shares of Livent were trading at $ 26.78.

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Disclosure of Securities: I, Priscilla Barrera, am not involved in any direct investment in any of the companies mentioned in this article.