Lynas shares slip after soft quarterly report
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More news: Shares in Lynas were nearly 2% lower at $5.94 in early trading after the rare earths producer reported lower production and sales revenue for the June quarter.
The company said maintenance works in Malaysia and a continuing stabilisation of its facility in Kalgoorlie kept a lid on production. Sales receipts were also lower, reflecting the low average neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) price during the quarter.
Soft prices and maintenance weigh on Lynas June quarter
The news: Rare earths producer Lynas has recorded lower production and sales revenue in the June quarter amid a low price environment.
The numbers: The company recorded sales revenue of $136.6 million, down from $157.5 million a year ago. Production was 2,188 tonnes of rare earth oxide, and 1,504 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), both lower from a year ago.
The context: Lynas said the quarter was marked by lower production amid maintenance works in Malaysia and a continuing stabilisation of its facility in Kalgoorlie. Sales receipts were also lower, reflecting the low average NdPr price during the quarter. The group is continuing to ramp up downstream production to its interim target of 9000 tonnes per annum.
The company is investing in the Kalgoorlie and Mt Weld expansion projects in Western Australia, while earthworks at the planned US Rare Earths Processing Facility are set to start by the end of 2024.
What they said: "Despite a slight improvement in China domestic end product demand, market prices remained low. However, our average selling price improved through the quarter as we carefully managed the timing of sales, especially for heavy rare earth which were quite volatile throughout the quarter," Lynas said.
The source: ASX announcement
