HK Stock Market Move | Ganfeng Lithium Group (01772) falls nearly 4% again; Q3 profit down 68% quarter-on-quarter; UBS expects a negative market reaction.

Ganfeng Lithium Group (01772) fell nearly 4% again. As of press time, it was down 3.69% at HK$22.46, with a turnover of HK$172 million. On the news front, Ganfeng Lithium Group released its results, reporting revenue of RMB 36.159 billion for the first three quarters, up 147.24% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 5.012 billion, up 19,540.50% year-on-year. In the third quarter alone, Ganfeng Lithium Group's net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 755 million, up 35.62% year-on-year, but down 68% quarter-on-quarter from RMB 2.42 billion in the second quarter. UBS said in a research report that Ganfeng Lithium Group's third-quarter profit was below the bank's and market expectations, and it expects investors to react negatively to the third-quarter results. The bank noted that the earnings miss was mainly due to the decline in lithium carbonate selling prices in the third quarter, which lagged and mismatched with the higher-cost spodumene inventory, estimated to have caused a loss of about RMB 630 million, explaining most of the gap with market expectations; in addition, investment income fell quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to weaker profits at associate company Mt Marion, a higher base from the second-quarter gain on the sale of Pilbara, and seasonal factors.