PLS to restart Western Australia plant, swings to first-half profit
Australian lithium miner PLS swung to a first‑half profit on Thursday and said it will restart production at its Ngungaju plant in Western Australia in July, restoring about 200 000 t of annual output after more than a year offline.
Shares of the pure-play lithium miner, known as Pilbara Minerals until late last year, jumped more than 3% in early trading to a two-week high of A$4.56.
PLS said it had approved the restart of the plant, citing "improved market conditions and ongoing customer demand". The facility is expected to ramp up gradually before returning to its historical production levels, the company said.
The Ngungaju plant was placed into care and maintenance in late 2024, as a supply glut and subdued demand weighed on lithium prices. In fiscal 2024, its final full year of operations, the facility produced more than 266,000 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate.
PLS will incur some operating costs in the second half to prepare for the restart, which could push the annual unit costs towards the upper half of its forecast range of A$560 to A$600 per ton.
Lower unit costs and higher lithium output in the first half, combined with a rebound in realised prices, lifted PLS's first-half earnings to A$33-million, from a loss of A$69-million in the prior corresponding period.
PLS reported quarterly revenue of A$624-million, up 47% from year-ago levels.
While the miner did not declare an interim dividend to prioritise "financial flexibility", it said it would consider a dividend for full-year results owing to continued strength in lithium pricing and free cash flow generation.
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