(Adds details on results, China demand)
April 21 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd posted a 27.6% drop in third-quarter revenue on Friday,
primarily hurt by a decline in the average selling price and
sales volumes.
Total rare earth oxide (REO) production volume fell due to a
supplier shortage of hydrochloric acid, which is used to process
rare earth oxides, the world's largest producer of rare earths
outside of China said.
The miner flagged softening of current pricing for heavy
rare earths, which saw the average selling price for its product
range fall to A$48.3 per kilogram (kg) from A$64.7 per kg a year
earlier.
The company also said production quotas in China increased
19% for the first half of 2023 from a year earlier, which led to
a temporary oversupply of rare earth products as demand remained
subdued in the Chinese market.
The miner's NdPr output for the quarter through March came
in at 1,725 tonnes, compared with 1,687 tonnes a year earlier.
Quarterly revenue fell to A$237.1 million ($159.85 million)
from A$327.7 million a year earlier.
($1 = 1.4832 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and John Biju in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Subhranshu Sahu)
