Albemarle, the US-based chemicals manufacturer, announced in its Q1 2025 results that its outlook for the lithium market has not changed, due to the tariff exemptions on critical minerals.
In a letter to shareholders, CEO Kent Masters attributed this and the global footprint of the firm to the positive outlook.
The firm, which is the world’s largest lithium producer for electric vehicles (EVs), reported net sales of $1.1 billion for Q1 2025. This is a 20.9% decrease compared with the same period in 2024.
It attributed its decline in sales due to lower pricing in energy storage and claim that this was partially offset by the higher volumes in specialties.
Energy storage sales in Q1 2025 amounted to $525 million, which is a decrease of $276 million or 35% from the same quarter in 2024, it said.
The company stated that volumes were flat as production at its integrated conversion network offset a reduction in the amount gained from tolling agreements.
This 2025 outlook is despite his admission that the full economic impact of the tariffs and other global trade actions are unclear, he said.
Reuters reported that it has been affected in the last two years by the overproduction of lithium in China. This forced the company to cut staff and reduce its expansion projects.
Kent Masters, chairman and CEO, Albemarle, said: “Our business continues to perform in line with our outlook considerations, including first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $267 million with strong year-over-year improvements in Specialties and Ketjen. We continue to focus on what we can control – taking decisive actions to reduce costs, optimize our lithium conversion network and increase efficiencies to preserve our long-term competitive position.”
