It all comes from the skyrocketing demand for lithium to produce electric vehicle batteries.
Chile's SQM Group, the world's second largest lithium producer, on March 2 announced a three-fold increase in net profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier, surpassing estimates due to increased demand. high and the supply of this white metal is scarce.
The electric car trend helps this company triple its profits - 1
Increased electric vehicle production has pushed up demand for lithium mining (Photo: Skoda).
The scramble to mine lithium has sent prices for the material soaring in recent years as automakers have pushed to make electric vehicles to meet stricter environmental protection regulations.
As a result, SQM posted a net profit of $1.15 billion for the last three months of 2022, well ahead of analysts' average estimate of $1.14 billion. Accordingly, quarterly revenue also increased nearly 3 times, to 3.13 billion USD, surpassing the average estimate of 2.99 billion USD, bringing total net profit to 1.67 billion USD.
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