IGO shares tank as CEO expresses 'low confidence' in refinery improvements
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More news: IGO shares tanked in early trade after the miner's Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery missed its annual production guidance and CEO Ivan Vella warned of "operational problems and ongoing issues" at the site.
Shares were down 10% to $4.50 at 11am AEST, leading losses on the ASX 200.
IGO reports higher FY25 production but flags Kwinana issues
The news: Critical minerals producer IGO reported higher lithium production during the 2025 financial year, but flagged ongoing issues at its Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery.
The numbers: Full-year spodumene production of 1.48 million tonnes was up 6.9% compared to the previous year. Production costs lowered from $330 to $325 per tonne.
Lithium hydroxide production grew 93.3% from 3,508 tonnes to 6,782 tonnes, while nickel production fell 39.5% from 28,376 tonnes to 17,173 tonnes.
Sales revenue dropped 37.7% to $512.5 million, as underlying earnings tumbled 97.6% to $14.4 million.
The context: IGO warned that operational issues continue to impact production at its Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in Western Australia, with full-year output finishing below guidance. The company said it is continuing to discuss with its joint venture partners options for the refinery that minimises cash outflow.
Meanwhile, IGO's lithium mine Greenbushes and nickel operation Nova both saw higher sales and improved mining costs on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
What they said: "The Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery operated well below nameplate capacity in the quarter and did not achieve guided production tonnes for the year," said IGO managing director and CEO Ivan Vella.
"Despite the strong commitment from the team at site to address operational problems and ongoing issues, IGO has low confidence in the ability of this asset to achieve meaningful, sustained improvement."
The source: ASX
