HK Stock Market Move | Tianqi Lithium Corporation (09696) opened more than 3% lower, announces annual loss forecast of up to RMB 8.2 billion, and terminates the second phase lithium hydroxide project.

Tianqi Lithium Corporation (09696) opened more than 3% lower, and as of the time of this report, it is down by 3.06% at HKD 22.2, with a turnover of HKD 1.2388 million. On the news front, Tianqi Lithium Corporation issued a profit warning, expecting a net loss attributable to shareholders of the company in the range of RMB 7.1 billion to 8.2 billion for the fiscal year 2024, compared to RMB 7.297 billion in the same period last year. During the reporting period, the market prices of lithium products showed a significant decline, leading to a substantial decrease in the company's lithium product sales prices and gross profit. Additionally, due to the mismatch in the pricing mechanisms between the company's lithium products and the pricing mechanism for chemical-grade lithium concentrate of its controlling subsidiary Talison Chemicals, the financial reports showed interim losses. The company also confirmed a significant decrease in investment income from its important associate SQM and an increase in asset impairment losses based on a cautious principle. Furthermore, the company announced that, after a comprehensive review of the preliminary investment in the "Phase II Lithium Hydroxide Project with an annual production of 24,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Australia" and the expected future capital investment, operating expenses, project progress, estimated future cash flows, etc., the board of directors believes that continuing the Phase II Lithium Hydroxide Project will not be economically feasible. The board of directors agreed to terminate the Phase II Lithium Hydroxide Project. As of December 31, 2024, the cumulative investment in the Phase II Lithium Hydroxide Project was approximately USD 197 million (equivalent to approximately RMB 1.412 billion based on the RMB exchange rate published by the China Foreign Exchange Trading Center on December 31, 2024).