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China’s top lithium firms project up to 50-fold profit surge amid energy transition boom

Soaring profits at Tianqi and Ganfeng highlight how global demand for energy independence is powering China’s lithium edge

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Tianqi Lithium's processing plant for lithium in Chile. Photo: AFP
Themis QiandJulie Zhang
China’s two largest lithium producers are set to report soaring earnings in the first half of the year, with profits projected to surge by as much as 50 times on the back of global demand for energy independence.

Tianqi Lithium estimated net profit of between 2.85 billion yuan (US$420 million) and 4.25 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, a year-on-year jump of between 3,276 per cent and 4,935 per cent, according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Tuesday night.

“Driven by multiple tailwinds including the development of the new energy industry and growth in downstream demand, the average selling prices of the company’s major lithium products rose markedly compared with the same period last year,” the Sichuan-based company said in the filing.

Tianqi operates the world’s largest lithium brines in Chile and the biggest hard-rock lithium mine in Australia, and is a major producer of lithium chemicals.

Ganfeng Lithium Group, meanwhile, forecast net profit of between 3.65 billion yuan and 4.6 billion yuan for the first half, reversing a net loss of 531 million yuan a year earlier and ending two consecutive years of interim losses, according to a filing with the exchange on Tuesday.
Besides growth in the global renewable energy sector, the rise of the energy storage business also contributed to the earnings boom, as it “significantly elevated the sales of lithium-ion batteries”, said Ganfeng, the world’s largest producer of metal lithium and lithium compounds. It also manufactures lithium-ion batteries.
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