Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com — Albemarle The stock of (NYSE:) rose 9.8% Thursday, after the lithium miner increased its guidance for years following a spectacular.

A tight supply and growing demand for lithium from electric vehicles drove the company to an adjusted loss of $2.38 per share in its first quarter. This was nearly half the forecasts. Meanwhile, sales at the lithium key unit more than doubled, to $550 million.

Albemarle indicated that they expect strong pricing conditions to continue throughout the year. That will cause average prices to more than double by 2021. Concerning volume, Albemarle maintained its prior guidance that it would increase output by between 20% and 30% as it expands production at Wodgina, an Australian mine. The company expects that lithium production will double by 2023 to 2025, to approximately 200,000 tonnes. There is a slight preference for lithium hydroxide rather than lithium carbonate.

The company now sees full-year earnings per share at between $9.25 and $12.25, up from a prior estimate of $5.65 to $6.65. This year, net cash flow from operations could reach $800 millions. The company is expected to reduce its net debt by less than 2x EBITDA. It was 2.3x at the end 2021. The cash flow will fund an additional 40% increase in capital expenditures to $1.4 billion.

Net sales now stand at $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion. That’s a significant increase from the prior consensus of $4.4 billion.

Albemarle stock stood out in an environment where the market was retreating after Wednesday’s sharp rally following the Federal Reserve press conference.