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Investing.com -- Chile’s SQM (NYSE:SQM) reported a steep drop in profit for the second quarter as weaker lithium prices weighed on results.
The world’s second-largest lithium producer’s net profit fell 59% to $88.4 million, well below analysts’ expectations of $143.01 million, according to LSEG data.
Revenue came in at $1.04 billion, roughly in line with the $1.064 billion forecast.
The company said lithium prices declined about 34% from a year earlier.
SQM’s gross profit in Q2 fell 34% to $253.6 million from $383.9 million in the year-ago period.
“As anticipated, during the second quarter, we navigated a period of lower lithium market prices than those observed in previous quarters. In this context, some of the contracts we had in place, hit the lower limits set in those contracts, affecting the volumes agreed," CEO Ricardo Ramos said in the release.
For the first six months of the year, the miner reported net income of $226 million, compared with a loss of $655.9 million a year earlier.
Revenue fell 12.6% to $2.08 billion from $2.38 billion in the same period of 2024.