https://newsletter.en.creamermedia.com
Flow|generation|Projects|Flow
Flow|generation|Projects|Flow
flow-company|generation|projects|flow-industry-term

Moody's lowers SQM rating outlook due to lithium uncertainty

1st August 2025

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

SANTIAGO – Moody's Ratings affirmed the credit rating of Chilean lithium miner SQM but lowered its outlook to negative from stable due to uncertainty around lithium revenue, the agency said on Thursday.

Moody's also noted that SQM's significant capital expenditure and dividend payments have heightened the company's reliance on debt.

Global prices for lithium, a critical component of electric vehicle batteries, have plunged nearly 90% since their peak in late 2022, causing producers worldwide to slash workforces and pull back on plans.

SQM began laying off 5% of its Chilean workforce last month.

Moody's said SQM, the world's second-largest lithium miner, maintains a strong market position in lithium and iodine but still faces risks from depending on debt financing for capital projects, as well as global trade tensions.

SQM's debt surged from $2.9-billion at the end of 2023 to $4.7-billion by March 2025, accompanied by a more than 50% drop in EBITDA, according to Moody's.

The ratings agency warned that SQM's ratings could be downgraded if the company fails to reduce its debt-to-EBITDA ratio to below 2.5x within 12 to 18 months, or improve its diversification and stable cash flow generation.

Moody's also noted the importance of lithium prices.

"These market conditions are critical, as they affect SQM's ability to deleverage and return debt to EBITDA levels," it said.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Alcohol Breathalysers
Alcohol Breathalysers

Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Invincible Valves
Invincible Valves

Established in 1982, Invincible Valves is a medium-sized enterprise in Germiston, serving global and local markets.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







301

sq:0.229 0.976s - 186pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now