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ASX-listed Allkem Ltd said on Friday its first-quarter revenue fell 11.6% sequentially due to lower output from its Mt Cattlin operations, offsetting benefits from soaring lithium prices on the back of strong global demand for battery metals.
Allkem had in August flagged labour and equipment shortages in Western Australia which forced the company to cut its fiscal 2023 production forecast from Mt Cattlin to 140,000 to 150,000 dry metric tonne (dmt) of spodumene concentrate, from 160,000 to 170,000 dmt.
Spodumene is the mineral from which lithium is extracted. Its popularity and price has soared as lithium is a key component of electric vehicle batteries.
For the quarter, output of spodumene concentrate from Mt Cattlin was 17,606 dmt, compared with 24,845 dmt in the June quarter.
Lower quarterly output hurt the Buenos Aires, Argentina-headquartered lithium miner’s revenue, which fell to $298 million for the three months ended September 30 from $337 million in the prior quarter.
That drop in revenue took the shine off sky-high spodumene prices that Allkem raked in during the period. It received $5,028 per dmt in the September-quarter, up from $4,992 in the prior three months.
Still, the miner remained bullish about future prices and forecast December-quarter pricing to be in line with the three months ending September 30.
(By Upasana Singh and Rishav Chatterjee; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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