*
H1 profit jumps nearly eleven-fold
*
Olaroz project posts record revenue, output
*
Sees March qtr lithium prices up 5% sequentially
*
Declares no dividend
(Updates with detail on results, share moves)
By Nausheen Thusoo
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Australian lithium miner Allkem Ltd said on Friday it expects higher realised prices this
quarter than in October-December and reported a nearly
eleven-fold jump in first-half profit on the back of soaring
prices and strong output.
The Argentina-headquartered company sees customer demand in
the market for spodumene concentrate, which contains lithium ,as
"robust" and expects lithium carbonate prices to be around
$53,000 per tonne in the January to March quarter, compared with
$43,236 in the first half.
Prices of lithium, a key material for electric vehicles,
have soared on strong demand from automakers amid increased
calls for decarbonisation and transition towards greener energy
sources. Global demand for the metal is expected to surge more
than five-fold by 2030.
Strong prices coupled with record production at Allkem's Olaroz facility in Argentina boosted the miner's half-year attributable net profit to $180.4 million from $16.6 million reported a year earlier. Olaroz, owned 66.5% by Allkem, recorded its highest ever production and revenue, of 7,542 tonnes and $296 million, respectively. Allkem, however, refrained from paying out a dividend for the half. Its shares rose as much as 3% in early trading. Formed from the $1.4 billion merger of Galaxy Resources and Orocobre in 2021, Allkem said it was progressing on getting two more projects ready for production: Sal de Vida in Argentina and spodumene concentrate site James Bay in Canada. Allkem expects first lithium carbonate production from Sal De Vida in mid-2024. The James Bay project was advancing with regulatory approvals, it said. "With two revenue generating operations being supplemented in the near future by Olaroz Stage 2 and a strong balance sheet, we are fully funded to complete construction at Sal de Vida and the development of James Bay," chief executive officer Martin Perez de Solay said. On Feb. 21 Allkem cut its outlook for 2023 output for its top profit-generating project, Mt Cattlin in Western Australia, to between 114,000 and 124,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, down from 193,560 tonnes logged in fiscal 2022. (Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Bradley Perrett)
