Tianqi Lithium (09696) fell more than 4%, touching HK$22.56, representing a decline of over 60% from its share price in May this year. As of press time, it was down 4.08% at HK$22.58, with a turnover of HK$82.0414 million.
On the news front, Tianqi Lithium expects to achieve a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 5.1 billion yuan to 6 billion yuan for the first three quarters of this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 2,734.97% to 3,235.26%. According to estimates, the company's Q3 net profit is expected to be 858 million to 1.758 billion yuan, a sequential decline of 25% to 63%. Morgan Stanley attributed the sequential slowdown to falling lithium prices, which dropped by 23,700 yuan per ton quarter-on-quarter, and noted that lithium prices are falling faster than spodumene, which could also affect processing profit margins during the downturn cycle. The bank expects this headwind to persist into the fourth quarter.
Since the beginning of this year, lithium carbonate prices have experienced a roller-coaster ride. At the start of the year, the main lithium carbonate futures contract began rising from around 120,000 yuan per ton; in May, driven by supply disruptions and rising downstream demand expectations, it briefly broke through 200,000 yuan per ton during intraday trading. Subsequently, amid factors such as rising expectations for supply recovery, prices retreated again. As of press time, the main lithium carbonate contract has fallen below the 100,000 yuan mark.
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