Pilbara Minerals, Australia’s largest pure-play lithium miner, announced that customer orders for lithium remain robust, suggesting that prices may have reached a bottom following the exit of higher-cost suppliers this year.
In the June quarter, the company reported a 58% increase in revenue compared to the March quarter, reaching A$305 million ($201.64 million) due to higher sales volumes and average realized prices. This marks a significant rise from A$192 million in the previous quarter. CEO Dale Henderson noted strong demand from major customers and expressed optimism about the market, despite challenges in predicting price bottoms.
Henderson highlighted that closures of high-cost supply sources, including lepidolite production in China and Africa, as well as some Australian operations, have contributed to the current market dynamics. He mentioned that lithium raw material spodumene is currently trading near three-year lows at $970 per metric ton.
Despite the overall downturn in the Australian lithium sector, Pilbara Minerals’ shares rose by 0.9%. Henderson pointed out that while some negative headlines circulate, the broader market for lithium remains strong, particularly driven by increasing demand from energy storage systems, which he referred to as a “sleeping giant” for consumption.
Looking ahead, Pilbara Minerals anticipates producing between 800,000 and 840,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate in the current financial year, an increase from 725,300 tons in the previous year. This forecast is supported by expansions from two major brownfields projects set to come online.
In the June quarter, sales of spodumene concentrate surged by 43%, reaching 235,800 tons.