Tianqi Lithium warns of US$1 billion loss on price slump, halt to Australian expansion

The Chengdu, Sichuan province-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday that it expected to post a net loss of 7.1 billion yuan (US$978.3 billion) to 8.2 billion yuan for last year. The company made a profit of 7.29 billion yuan in 2023.

Tianqi’s shares fell as much as 3.5 per cent, before erasing losses to trade 0.4 per cent higher at HK$23.00 at the noon break. The Hang Seng Index was up 1.8 per cent.

“Although the production and sales volume of the company’s lithium compounds [achieved growth], the overall price experienced a significant downtrend due to market volatility,” Tianqi said.

Tianqi said a substantial profit decline at its overseas unit Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, unfavourable foreign exchange losses due to the strength of the US dollar and major asset impairments owing largely to a decision to halt a project’s expansion in Australia contributed to the annual loss.