Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today net loss([1]),(2) for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, of (US$524.5) million or (US$1.84) per share, compared to US$1,809.5 million or US$6.33 per share reported for the same period last year.
Gross profit(3) reached US$1,033.3 million (29.9% of revenues) for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, lower than US$2,674.3 million (43.4% of revenues) recorded for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Revenues totaled US$3,455.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, representing a decrease of 43.9% compared to US$6,155.9 million reported for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.
The Company also announced net income for the third quarter of 2024 of US$131.4 million or US$0.46 per share, a decrease of 72.6% compared to US$479.4 million or US$1.68 per share for the third quarter of 2023. Gross profit for the third quarter of 2024 reached US$280.8 million, 62.7% lower than the US$753.6 million reported for the third quarter of 2023. Revenues totaled US$1,076.9 million for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 41.5% compared to US$1,840.3 million for the third quarter of 2023.
SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo Ramos, stated, "We are publishing our third quarter 2024 financial results with positive volume growth in almost all of our business lines compared to last year. Fertilizer markets have shown solid market dynamics with a market size recovery. Our Specialty Plant Nutrition volumes grew more than 20% year-on-year while our revenues in this business line increased close to 12%."
He continued, "Iodine demand continued to be strong, leading to an increase in our sales volumes and revenues compared to last year. Prices continued to move up slightly quarter over quarter since the beginning of this year and we have used part of our inventories to answer market needs."
Mr. Ramos further stated, "In lithium, we reported sales volumes of more than 51 thousand metric tons of lithium products, an 18% growth year-on-year, demonstrating strong demand in the market. As anticipated, prices during the third quarter continued their downward trend, with average realized prices 24% lower than the second quarter this year. Although demand continues to grow at a strong pace, mainly driven by strong EV sales growth in China, we continue to see the prices pressured by an oversupply that persists despite the curtailment announcement we have seen over the past few weeks."
Mr. Ramos closed by saying, "Our more than 30-year track record in the lithium market has proved that we have a long-term view in this business. Despite current market prices, we strongly believe in the lithium market and its fundamentals which are highly related to the clean energy transition. SQM is in a strong competitive position and well prepared to continue developing our projects in Chile and abroad to harvest the benefits of this transition."
