Core Lithium on charge with first full-year profit
The Adelaide-based lithium miner generated revenue and a full-year profit for the first time since listing in 2011 as it continues to expand its Top End projects.
Photo: Core Lithium
Core Lithium today posted its first-ever net profit after tax of $10.8 million in the year ended 30 June, alongside maiden revenue of $50.6 million.
It marks the first money-making financial period for the Flinders Street-headquartered firm which made its ASX debut 12 years ago, and follows the construction of its lithium mine at Finniss in the Northern Territory.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at $14 million as the company produced its first batch of spodumene concentrate – the high purity lithium ore which is a key input for the production of batteries for smart phones and electric vehicles.
More than 18,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of the ore were produced, while 5423dmt was shipped from its Top End operation in FY23.
The company expects to sell between 90,000 and 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate next financial year.
Core Lithium CEO Gareth Manderson celebrated the financial results today.
“Delivering a maiden profit in the first year is a significant achievement and a testament to the strategy to move quickly to production in a strong pricing environment,” he said.
The results come after Core Lithium completed a $111 million equity raise in August to turbocharge its operations at the Finnis lithium mine it opened south of Darwin last year, as well as the development of an underground mine on the territory’s Cox Peninsula and other lithium exploration initiatives.
Today, Manderson said the company remained debt free and had $153 million of cash at the year-end which does not include the fresh $111 million raised recently.
“Core’s balance sheet and the strategic capital allocation for operations improvement, development and exploration programs will provide the foundations for the company to realise its growth ambitions in the financial year ahead,” he said.
The company would continue “to ramp up grants production and deliver spodumene concentrate into long-term offtake agreements, grow the broader Finniss district mine life through the development of deposits in the region near the established processing infrastructure and pursue longer-term growth initiatives through our exploration program”.
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