FILE PHOTO: A truck carrying rare earth travels towards Lynas Corp’s Mount Weld processing plant, northeast of Perth, in Western Australia, August 23, 2019. Picture taken August 23. REUTERS/Melanie Burton
July 25, 2021
(Reuters) -Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd on Monday reported record quarterly revenue, as robust demand led to a jump in sales of the metals it mines and offset softness in prices of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).
Demand for NdPr and other rare earth materials has rebounded from a pandemic-driven drop last year as electric vehicles continue to gain popularity amid a global push to reduce carbon emissions.
NdPr is also used in magnets for windfarms, gadgets like smartphones, and military equipment, and Lynas and other western producers stand to benefit from efforts by the United States to curb its reliance on China for the specialized minerals.
“Demand for Lynas products, in particular for our NdPr product family, continued to be very strong through the quarter, leading to record sales and cash collection,” Chief Executive Officer Amanda Lacaze said in a statement.
Lacaze said a drop in prices during the quarter was due to “normal correction after the sharp and speculative increases seen in the previous months” and added that prices had strengthened again in July.
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of A$185.9 million ($136.97 million), well above A$38 million a year earlier and higher than the prior record of A$119.4 million.
Lynas produced 1,393 tonnes of NdPr in the quarter, up from 775 tonnes a year ago. Its full product range garnered an average selling price of A$39.1/kg, up from A$20.2/kg last year.
Lynas also said it had identified a second potential site in Malaysia to build a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility amid ongoing delays for clearance of an earlier site identified by the Pahang state government.
($1 = 1.3576 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi and Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Richard Pullin)
