Battery metals company Lithium Australia boosted revenue by more than 40 per cent in the second half of calendar year 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
The WA-based ASX-listed company, whose interests encompass several aspects of the so-called “green energy revolution”, also slashed its losses in that same period according to its latest half-year accounts.
Its half-year net loss fell to $1.5 million from almost $5 million in the same period in 2021 and the working capital surplus was $15.5 million at the end of 2022, compared to a deficit of $1.8 million at the end of June that year.
The improving finances would seem in part to reflect the growing awareness of the company’s position in Australia’s burgeoning lithium sector.
Lithium Australia CEO Simon Linge says the company’s Envirostream division – the nation’s leading lithium battery recycler – is starting to gain real traction with customers, developing more enterprise-level battery recycling agreements and partnerships for consumer-level collections.
The result is increased stocks of batteries for recycling, leading to increased revenue streams for Lithium Australia. For example, receipts from customers in 2H 2022 passed $2.2 million – more than double the amount generated in the corresponding period the previous year.
Linge, who joined Lithium Australia as CEO at the beginning of this year, says he is enthusiastic about the company’s prospects for 2023 and beyond.
“We’re right at the heart of the drive to decarbonise the global economy through our work in our range of battery technologies, so these are exciting times for the company,” he said.
“Lithium Australia has more opportunities than challenges and this year will be about prioritising and pursuing those opportunities. We have a clear view for the business and are well advanced in finalising our future strategy which I hope we can release sometime in late March.”
Lithium Australia has pivoted in recent times from its original purpose as a minerals explorer to concentrate on recycling technologies and lithium processing, culminating in a request last November to the ASX to reclassify as a materials entity, not an explorer.
The company’s main ambitions now include growing its battery recycling business and commercialising a product to rival conventional lithium-ion batteries – lithium ferro phosphate, or “LFP” cathode powders. Lithium Australia says demand for LFP represents more than half the global market for lithium-ion battery materials, claiming it one of only a few entities outside China with the expertise to manufacture LFP powder of the highest quality.
The company is working towards building an LFP pilot plant and eventually wants to produce annually a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of LFP powder.
The recent pivot has not only given Lithium Australia a sharper focus on its direction, it has also led to a top-up of coffers. Last December, the company exited a stake in the Greenbushes South lithium project, selling its 20 per cent share to partner Galan Lithium for $2 million in cash and $1 million worth of Galan shares.
The deal also came with the first right of refusal for Lithium Australia to take up to 20 per cent of Galan’s share of LFP from Greenbushes.
Moreover, earlier this month, Lithium Australia announced a binding agreement with Charger Metals to offload its remaining 30 per cent interest in the Lake Johnston lithium project, west of Norseman in WA, in exchange for 7 million Charger shares and first rights to 30 per cent of lithium the project delivers for its production of LFT.
Accompanying the release of Lithium Australia’s half-year accounts was the company’s inaugural sustainability report – a publication becoming increasingly popular worldwide with companies seeking to publicise their work and credentials in the ESG space. Linge described the publication as “very much at the heart of who we are and what we do as a business”, adding it demonstrated the inroads it had made across the ESG spectrum.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
