SQM posted seven times higher profits in 2022

Profits almost seven times higher than the previous year was the final balance of the Chemical and Mining Society of Chile (SQM) in 2022. Of the 585.5 million dollars reached in 2021, the company went on to earn 3,906 million dollars, in a year marked by rising lithium prices.

Likewise, revenues increased by 274%, to total a sum of 10,711 million dollars. Revenues from lithium and derivatives totaled $8,152.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, an increase of 770.9% compared to $936.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.

Ricardo Ramos, general manager of the non-metallic mining company, highlighted that, through the contract it maintains with Corfo in the Salar de Atacama, the company contributed more than 5,000 million to the treasury.

Specifically in the fourth quarter, SQM said it saw very strong demand for lithium “driven by an increase in cathode and electric vehicle production in anticipation that Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles do not extend into 2023.”

Because of this, the company said that some of its 2023 sales volumes were brought forward and delivered in the last months of 2022. “As expected, sales brought forward in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by the usual slowdown around Chinese New Year celebrations, resulted in lower monthly lithium sales rates during the first two months of 2023 than those seen late last year,” the company said.

Along with reporting its results to the regulator, SQM announced that its investment plan for the 2023-2025 period projects to reach 3.4 billion dollars, including maintenance.