SQM announces earnings for the half year ending June 30, 2025

In a significant development, Covalent has announced the successful completion of the Kwinana refinery in Australia, a joint venture with Wesfarmers. The refinery, expected to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles, is set to ramp up its operations over the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) has reported a challenging second quarter, with revenues totaling US$1,042.7 million, a decrease of 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Despite market growth, total volume sold during this period was lower than the first quarter of 2025.

SQM's CEO, Ricardo Ramos, stated that the company navigated lower lithium market prices during the second quarter. Gross profit for the quarter reached US$253.6 million, and for the six months ended June 30, 2025, it was US$558.3 million (26.8% of revenues).

Net income per share for SQM for the six months ended June 30, 2025, stands at US$0.79. Total revenues for the same period amounted to US$2,079.3 million, a decrease of 12.6% compared to the same period last year.

In a positive note, SQM expects sales volumes from Salar de Atacama operations to grow by approximately 10% compared to last year. The company is also increasing its sales guidance for its Australian operations, thanks in part to the Mt. Holland Lithium Project. Once at full capacity, the project is expected to produce approximately 50,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year.

The first product was produced at the Kwinana refinery in July 2025. SQM will hold a conference call on August 20, 2025, to discuss these results. The participant call link for the conference is https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI096c4f4e6f094d1db8eba9c6ed4a9bbd, and the webcast link is https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/2zir238k.

The growing demand for electric vehicles is expected to be met in part by the Mt. Holland Lithium Project, but the company that declared the successful completion and first production start of the Kwinana refinery in the second quarter of 2025 was not identified in the available search results.

As market dynamics continue to evolve, both Covalent and SQM are poised to play significant roles in meeting the growing demand for lithium, a crucial component in electric vehicle batteries.