SQM Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA

SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today net loss⁽¹⁾ for the six months ended June 30, 2024, of (US$655.9) million or (US$2.30) per share, compared to US$1,330.1 million or US$4.66 per share reported for the same period last year. 

Gross profit reached US$752.5 million (31.6% of revenues) for the six months ended June 30, 2024, lower than US$1,920.7 million (44.5% of revenues) recorded for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Revenues totaled US$2,378.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a decrease of 44.9% compared to US$4,315.6 million reported for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

The Company also announced net income for the second quarter of 2024 of US$213.6 million or US$0.75 per share, a decrease of 63.2% compared to US$580.2 million or US$2.03 per share for the second quarter of 2023. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2024 reached US$383.9 million, 55.1% lower than the US$855.1 million reported for the second quarter of 2023. Revenues totaled US$1,293.6 million for the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of 37.0% compared to US$2,051.7 million for the second quarter of 2023.

SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo Ramos, stated, "We are very pleased to highlight that during the second quarter, we entered into a partnership agreement with Codelco to extend our operations in the Salar de Atacama until 2060. Together with Codelco, we are working to fulfill the remaining conditions for the partnership to take effect in 2025. The most pivotal of these is the consultation process with the communities surrounding the Salar de Atacama. We are committed to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement with the Atacameño communities founded upon the most rigorous standards, transparency and promotion of the human rights of these communities."

He continued by saying, "In the second quarter, we continued to see positive sales volumes growth in the lithium, iodine and fertilizer businesses. While sales volumes in the lithium and iodine businesses again reached record levels, increasing by more than 20% and 11%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, sales volumes in the fertilizer business confirmed the strong demand recovery trends anticipated since the beginning of the year, increasing by more than 20% compared to the same period last year."    

Mr. Ramos further stated, "The strong sales volumes growth in the lithium business in the second quarter was offset by significantly lower average realized lithium prices, as a result of lower market prices when compared to the same period last year. We see this pricing trend continuing in the second half of this year, with current lithium price indices in China nearly 20% lower than the average lithium price indices in the second quarter of 2024. This trend could have a negative impact on our realized prices, which reflect the prevailing market price trends, in the second half of the year. Given current price levels, we anticipate that some lithium producers may reduce their output, as many projects, especially greenfield, are not economically viable at these prices. In our situation, while we continue to advance our previously announced expansions, we are currently reevaluating specific markets and initiatives that may be less attractive in the near term under these conditions."

Mr. Ramos closed by saying, "In light of our confidence in the long-term growth of the lithium industry, we launched SQM International Lithium to focus on developing SQM's lithium business outside of Chile. Leveraging our expertise in exploration, project development, M&A and innovation, SQM International Lithium's objective is to expand the portfolio of lithium assets we have with various partners outside of Chile, allowing us to increase SQM's production volumes by at least 100,000 metric tons of LCE per year by the end of this decade."

About SQM

SQM is a global company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A). SQM develops and produces diverse products for several industries essential for human progress, such as health, nutrition, renewable energy and technology through innovation and technological development. We aim to maintain our leading world position in the lithium, potassium nitrate, iodine and thermo-solar salts markets.

For further information, contact:

Gerardo Illanes / gerardo.illanes@sqm.com
Irina Axenova  / irina.axenova@sqm.com
Isabel Bendeck / isabel.bendeck@sqm.com

For media inquiries, contact:

Maria Ignacia Lopez / ignacia.lopez@sqm.com
Pablo Pisani / pablo.pisani@sqm.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make concerning the completion and implementation of the proposed partnership with Codelco, the development of Salar Futuro Project, Company's capital expenditures, financing sources, Sustainable Development Plan, business and demand outlook, future economic performance, anticipated sales volumes and sales prices, profitability, revenues, expenses, or other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line growth.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are estimates that reflect the best judgment of SQM management based on currently available information. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements, including our ability to successfully implement the Sustainable Development Plan. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by SQM with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent annual report on Form 20-F, which identifies other important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to SQM on the date hereof and SQM assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

⁽¹⁾ Includes the net effect of accounting adjustments for the payments of the specific tax on mining activities for the exploitation of lithium for the six months ended June 30, 2024, in a total amount of US$1,106.9 million. For more detail, please refer to Note (1) to this Earnings release.

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SOURCE Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, S.A. (SQM)