(Reuters) -Albemarle, the world’s largest producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries, said on Wednesday it has not yet been affected by the flurry of tariffs bouncing around the global economy and would thus maintain its 2025 outlook.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company, which operates across the Americas, Asia and Australia, kept its sales and earnings forecast for the year, noting that the lithium and some other critical minerals are for now exempt from tariffs that Washington aims to impose on trading partners.
“While the full economic impact of the recently announced tariffs and other global trade actions is unclear, we benefit from our global footprint and the current exemptions for critical minerals,” CEO Kent Masters said in a press release.
Still, Albemarle, like many of its peers, has struggled the past two years to weather a lithium supply glut caused by overproduction in China that has forced it to cut staff and curtail expansion projects.
The company gave no indication that market dynamics are improving, with Masters noting the company continues “to focus on what we can control.”
Albemarle reported a first-quarter net loss for common shareholders of $340,000, or zero cents per share, compared to a loss of $9.1 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding costs to curtail expansion projects, losses on investments and other one-time items, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company lost 18 cents per share.
By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 59 cents per share, according to IBES data from LSEG.
The company’s Energy Storage division, which sells lithium, reported a $276.3 million drop in revenue caused by a 34% slide in prices the company receives for its lithium.
The company’s stock fell slightly to $58.35 in after-hours trading.
Albemarle plans to discuss the quarterly results on a Thursday morning conference call with investors.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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