All about Albemarle, the lithium giant with record numbers
Albemarle, the world's largest lithium producer, reported exceptional numbers in 2022 thanks to high metal prices for batteries. But he warns: the sector needs guarantees to increase supply
US mining and chemical company Albemarle reported 2022 net sales of $7 billion, more than double that of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA – i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation, excluding components extraordinary – amounted to approximately 3.5 billion, four times as much compared to the previous year.
THE RESULTS OF THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2022
For the fourth quarter of 2022, the company reported net sales of €2.6 billion (+193 percent), net profit of €1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of €1.2 billion (+444 percent). For 2023 it forecasts €11.3-12.9 billion in net sales, and €4.2-5.1 billion in adjusted EBITDA.
THE WORDS OF THE AD MASTERS
Chief Executive Kent Masters traced the positive 2022 results – “extraordinary”, he called them – to the company's “robust advantages” in the “growing market for lithium ”, a crucial metal for electric vehicle batteries Albemarle is the largest producer in the world.
THE REQUEST TO ALBEMARLE ABOUT LITHIUM PRICES
Last month the company spoke of the need for lithium prices to remain high, in order to allow the mining industry to develop new projects and ensure an adequate supply of a metal indispensable for the ecological transition.
On the other hand, the car manufacturers – Albemarle supplies several of them, starting with Tesla – would like lower lithium prices, in order to reduce the production costs of the batteries and improve the profitability of electric vehicles: the battery itself, made up of metals of great value, is the component that most affects the selling price of these cars.
HOW ARE THE LITHIUM PRICES
According to calculations by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, lithium prices have more than doubled in 2022, and have increased almost nine-fold in the past three years. For 2023, Albemarle estimates growth of 40 percent compared to last year.
A "RESTRICTED" MARKET
Eric Norris, head of the Albemarle division dedicated to energy storage (mainly batteries), had declared in late January that lithium prices "must remain high to support the incentives necessary to assume the investment risks" in the increase in capacity of production and refining.
He then added that the market for this metal “is more restricted than last year. Significant supply is on the way, but demand growth is more significant. Incentivising the industry to close this gap requires strong long-term pricing . The situation of tension between supply and demand has forced us to become more selective in collaborations with our customers".
THE FORECASTS TO 2030
Stimulated by electric mobility and the installation of renewable parks (wind and solar plants need batteries to store the energy produced intermittently), global lithium demand is expected to reach 3.7 million tonnes by 2030. By that date, Albemarle expects to cover it with 600,000 tons.
SHAREHOLDERS AND ALBEMARLE PLANS
Albemarle is a chemical and mining company headquartered in the United States: more precisely in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is led by Kent Masters, who serves as both chairman and chief executive officer. It is mainly engaged in lithium (the source of most of its revenue), bromine and catalysts.
The main shareholders are the US investment companies Vanguard Group (11.6 percent of the shares), Capital Group (6.5 percent) and BlackRock (5.1 percent).
Albemarle produces lithium primarily in Australia and Chile. It is working on new facilities in the United States, Australia, Chile and China, and is considering building a large metal-working facility in Europe . Last year, the company received $149.7 million from the US government to build a lithium processing plant in North Carolina.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/albemarle-litio-risultati-2022/ on Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:21:24 +0000.