What’s new: Tianqi Lithium Corp. (002466.SZ), one of the world’s largest producers of the commodity, said it expects a steep rebound in net profit for 2021, after lithium prices soared for the past year.
Tianqi is expected to post between 1.8 billion yuan ($284 million) and 2.4 billion yuan in net profit contributed to shareholders, reversing a net loss of 1.8 billion yuan for the previous year, according to its exchange filing (link in Chinese) on late Wednesday.
The Shenzhen-listed firm is also projecting strong growth in its annual revenue citing reasons such as global booming demand for electric vehicles (EVs), electric battery producers’ capacity expansion, as well as increasing returns from its associate company Chilean lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA.
Background: Another major Chinese lithium manufacturer, Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. (002460.SZ), also estimated an up to 437% yearly surge in its 2021 net profit to reach as much as 5.5 billion yuan, according to its Monday filing (link in Chinese).
China’s spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate, the key material used to power EVs, has surged 419% from the beginning of last year to reach 275,000 yuan per ton on the last day, and it is expected to continue the wild ride into 2022 over concerns of a supply shortage.
In September, Tianqi revived its 2018 plan to seek a listing in Hong Kong. Bloomberg reported this month that it is going to raise about $1 billion to $2 billion, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Contact reporter Manyun Zou (manyunzou@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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