Tianqi Lithium Reports a Net Loss of 7.9 Billion in 2024, Its "Most Loss-Making Year" Since Listing, and Revises Capacity Plans Downward

Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ), a leading lithium company, reported its largest loss since listing, with a net loss of 7.905 billion yuan, exceeding the full-year profit of the previous year.

Tianqi Lithium announced in the evening that the company achieved operating revenue of 13.063 billion yuan in 2024, down 67.75% YoY. The net loss attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 7.905 billion yuan, turning from profit to loss YoY. The net profits for Q1-Q4 were -3.897 billion yuan, -1.309 billion yuan, -496 million yuan, and -2.203 billion yuan, respectively. The company plans not to distribute cash dividends, issue bonus shares, or increase share capital with capital reserves.

Tianqi Lithium stated in the announcement that the main reasons for the performance change are: first, the significant decline in lithium product prices and the mismatch in pricing mechanisms; second, the decline in performance of its important associate Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) and the latest results of tax litigation leading to a reduction in net profit; third, the increase in asset impairment losses; fourth, the increase in exchange losses.

Among these, the first two reasons were mentioned in the company's performance disclosure for the first three quarters. For the full year of 2024, lithium carbonate prices showed a trend of rising first and then falling, continuing the downward trend of 2023.

The third reason is the announcement in Q4 to terminate the investment and construction of the second phase of the lithium hydroxide project, with an expected provision for impairment of construction in progress and right-of-use assets totaling approximately 1.412 billion yuan in 2024.

After the planned termination of the investment, Tianqi Lithium also revised down its future lithium chemical capacity plan in the latest disclosed 2024 annual report. Tianqi Lithium stated that the current completed lithium chemical product capacity is about 91,600 mt/year, and the announced planned lithium chemical product capacity totals 122,600 mt/year. The 2023 annual report showed that the total lithium compound capacity will reach 143,800 mt/year after the completion of the construction projects.

From the business composition, Tianqi Lithium mainly focuses on two core business segments: lithium mines and lithium compounds and derivatives, with revenue shares of 38.11% and 61.81%, respectively. Notably, the sales volume of the company's chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry, mainly including lithium chemicals, reached 102,800 mt in 2024, up 81.46% YoY. The company stated that this was mainly due to increased customer demand and corresponding production in 2024.

Currently, Tianqi Lithium's production lines under construction include a 30,000 mt lithium hydroxide project at the Zhangjiagang production site in Jiangsu (which can flexibly adjust to produce lithium carbonate products), and a 1,000 mt lithium metal and supporting raw material project in Chongqing.

In terms of lithium resources, the company's subsidiary Talison operates the Greenbushes lithium mine, which has four operating and one under-construction lithium concentrate production plants. The current total lithium concentrate capacity is about 1.62 million mt/year. In 2024, Talison produced 141 mt of lithium concentrate. In H1 2025, Talison will focus on advancing the construction of the wet plant and conducting earthworks in phases. The project is expected to produce the first batch of lithium concentrate products in October 2025. After the completion of the Chemical Grade Plant No. 3, the total lithium concentrate capacity at Greenbushes will reach 2.14 million mt/year.

In terms of domestic lithium resources, Tianqi Lithium made some progress in advancing the Cuola spodumene mine mining and beneficiation project in Yajiang, Sichuan in 2024, including obtaining the record filing for the Tebai Gully tailings reservoir project of the Cuola spodumene mine, jointly investing in a power transmission and transformation project with other lithium industry enterprises in the Jiajika mining area, and obtaining the pre-approval and site selection opinion for the construction project of the Tebai Gully tailings reservoir. At the end of last year, Shenghe Lithium signed an investment agreement with enterprises in the Jiajika mining area to jointly establish a joint venture company for the tailings reservoir project and water intake facilities project, aiming to carry out the construction and operation of the tailings reservoir and the shared development of water intake facilities.