Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, said on Wednesday it would slash costs for the second time this year and that everything but its dividend could be on the chopping block.
The aggressive move was caused by tumbling prices for the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries after the company swung to a second-quarter loss.
Shares fell 2.9% to $91 in after-hours trading.
The Tesla supplier and its peers have been buffeted in the past year by lithium oversupply from China and a softening of aggressive EV adoption rates that has dragged down prices for the ultralight metal and delayed expectations for how long the energy transition could take.
General Motors, for example, earlier this month backed away from its target of producing 1 million EVs annually by 2025 in North America.
Albemarle, with operations across the globe, had already slashed staff in January. Yet lithium prices have continued to tumble, from an average of $20 per kilogram at the end of last year to a current range of roughly $12 to $15 per kg, the company said.
“The market is not improving. It’s actually probably getting a little worse,” Albemarle CEO Kent Masters told Reuters. “We’re using the term ‘lower for longer’ from a pricing perspective, and we have to be able to operate through that downturn.”
To save costs, the company is launching a “comprehensive review of its cost and operating structure” that should be complete by October, Masters said. Albemarle also plans to pause construction of an Australian processing unit and idle production at a second one at the site.
“We will look at everything to get us kind of a mean and lean position,” he said, adding that additional layoffs and asset sales are on the table.
The company’s dividend, which has been raised annually for 30 years, likely would not be affected. “It’s important for our shareholders. So our plan is we would stick with that,” he said.
The pace of EV demand growth across the globe has this year failed to keep up with robust expectations, spooking lithium industry investors. Goldman Sachs analysts, for example, doesn’t expect global lithium demand to outpace supply until 2030.
Albemarle reported a net loss of $188.2 million, or $1.96 per share, compared to a net profit of $650 million, or $5.52 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time items, Albemarle earned 4 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 41 cents per share, according to IBES data from LSEG.
Albemarle did keep its full-year profit outlook, helped in part by results from its catalyst division and cost cuts, which have saved more than $150 million this year.
Despite the price drop, Albemarle and its peers have repeatedly said they expect demand for lithium to jump later this decade as EVs go mainstream.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company plans to discuss the quarterly results on a Thursday morning call with investors.
(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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