Tianqi Lithium Corporation (002466.SZ) announces a preliminary loss forecast, with an expected net loss of 8.2 to 7.1 billion yuan in 2024, turning from profit to loss.

Tianqi Lithium Corporation (002466.SZ) announced its performance forecast for the year 2024, expecting a net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company ranging from 8.2 to 7.1 billion yuan, a shift from profit to loss. After deducting non-recurring gains and losses, the net loss is also estimated to be between 8.2 and 7.1 billion yuan, with a shift from profit to loss. Although the company achieved year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth in the production and sales volume of lithium compounds and derivatives in 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall market price of lithium products showed a significant downward trend due to market fluctuations. As a result, the company's sales prices and gross margins for lithium products decreased significantly compared to the same period last year. Additionally, due to the mismatch in the pricing mechanisms between the chemical-grade lithium concentrate pricing mechanism of the company's subsidiary Talison Lithium Pty Ltd ("Talison") and the pricing mechanism for the company's lithium chemical products, the company experienced a phase of operational losses during the reporting period. In 2024, the market price of chemical-grade lithium concentrate gradually declined, leading to a decrease in the prices of lithium concentrate newly purchased from Talison by the company. As the newly purchased low-priced lithium concentrate continues to enter the inventory and the gradual digestion of the inventory lithium concentrate, the cost of chemical-grade lithium concentrate used in the production costs of the company's various bases is gradually approaching the latest purchase price. The mismatch in the lithium concentrate pricing mechanism is also gradually weakening. As of the date of this performance forecast announcement, the company's important associate company Sociedad Qumica y Minera de Chile S.A. ("SQM") has not yet announced its performance report for the fourth quarter of 2024. The company fully considers the reliable information available, adopts the usual method, and calculates the investment income from SQM for the same period based on financial modeling and using information such as Bloomberg's forecasted earnings per share for SQM in the fourth quarter of 2024. In addition, SQM disclosed in its first quarter performance report for 2024 that the Chilean Santiago Court ruled on tax litigation for its 2017 and 2018 tax years in April 2024, overturning a previous ruling by the tax and customs court on November 7, 2022, resulting in the recognition of approximately $1.1 billion in income tax expenses and a corresponding decrease in its net profit by approximately $1.1 billion. Based on the aforementioned Bloomberg forecast data, it is expected that SQM's performance for 2024 will see a significant year-on-year decrease, resulting in a substantial decline in the investment income from this associate company compared to the year 2023.