Lithium price rebound unable to conceal industry winter. Albemarle Corporation (ALB.US) reported a fourth-quarter loss exceeding expectations and shut down a key production line in Australia.

The world's largest lithium producer, Albemarle Corporation (ALB.US), announced on Wednesday that its quarterly loss exceeded expectations, and it will shut down a major processing plant in Australia due to continued weak battery metals prices. The financial report shows that Albemarle Corporation's fourth-quarter revenue reached $1.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%, exceeding expectations by $80 million; net loss was $455.9 million, equivalent to a loss of $3.87 per share; while the net profit for the same period last year was $33.6 million, equivalent to earnings of 29 cents per share. Over the past two years, the price of lithium has dropped by more than 90%, partly due to oversupply of lithium from China, resulting in layoffs, acquisitions, and project delays for Albemarle Corporation and its peers. Although prices have rebounded in recent months, they are still far below the historical high in 2023. Albemarle Corporation stated that after shutting down one production line at the Kemerton processing plant in Western Australia last year, it will idle the last active processing production line at the plant. The company has also scrapped plans to add two new production lines. CEO Kent Masters said in a statement, "Unfortunately, the recent recovery in lithium prices alone is not enough to offset the challenges facing our Western Australian hard rock lithium conversion business." The Kemerton plant is responsible for processing lithium spodumene (a type of lithium-containing hard rock) from the Greenbushes mine. The Greenbushes mine is the largest lithium mine globally, jointly owned by Albemarle Corporation and China's Tianqi Lithium Corporation. Excluding one-time items (such as expenses related to its soon-to-be-sold Ketjen refining catalyst business), Albemarle Corporation reported a loss of 53 cents per share, while analysts had expected a loss of 41 cents per share. Despite soft prices, Albemarle Corporation reported a 23% increase in sales volume of lithium products. The company expects revenue for the 2026 fiscal year to be $6 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be $2.61.