China’s two biggest lithium producers remain in the red nine months into the year as the battery-metal downturn continues squeezing the industry.
Tianqi Lithium Corp. and Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. both reported third-quarter results Wednesday that highlight the challenges of producing the metal amid slumping prices and a supply glut. Tianqi posted a net loss of 496 million yuan for the quarter, compared with profit of 1.65 billion yuan in the same period last year. Ganfeng’s net quarterly profit fell 25% to 120 million yuan.
Tianqi’s losses widened to 5.7 billion yuan for the first nine month of the year, while Ganfeng’s losses narrowed to 640 million yuan over the same period.
Global lithium prices have plunged from two years ago due to a flood of new supply and softening growth in demand from the electric-vehicle sector. In China, the material is 88% cheaper than its peak in late 2022.
Tianqi said its output and sales volumes climbed in the third quarter as it ramped up new plants, though there was a “substantial decline” in prices and gross profit from a year earlier.
Ganfeng remains optimistic on lithium demand for the medium to long term, executives told investors last week in an online briefing. The company sees global supply growth at a relatively low level next year given current pricing.
The drawn-out slump in lithium has already forced an array of stalled projects, scrapped deals and production cuts across the world as producers seek to weather the downturn and protect under-pressure margins.
Australian miner Pilbara Minerals Ltd. on Wednesday said it would temporarily put a plant in care and maintenance from December to reduce costs. That followed a move three months ago by Albemarle Corp. in Australia, when it shut half of its processing capacity and put its expansion plans there on hold.
(By Annie Lee)
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