2020 Financial Results
Our financial data, in terms of profit, inventory, payment collection and other indicators, all have improved significantly.
Operations
Resources
· Greenbushes Mine
The largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world as measured by the size of the mine’s resources and reserves of high-grade ore. The asset also has very competitive production costs for chemical-grade lithium concentrate.
-Processing capacity 1.34 million tons per year (chemical grade plant 1.2 million tons and technical grade plant 0.14 million tons).
-2.1% Lithium resources 8.78 million lithium concentrate equivalent (LCE).
-2020 Total revenue 2.002 billion RMB, net profit 0.98 billion RMB.
·Yajiang Cuola Mine
-Cuola mine contains 0.63 million tons LCE of lithium resources.
-Currently held as a reserve lithium asset for future development.
Manufacturing Plants
We operate three lithium compounds and derivatives manufacturing plants in China, and one plant in Kwinana, WA. By the end of 2020, our production capacity of lithium compounds and derivatives was 44,800 tons.
·Jiangsu
-The only fully automated battery-grade lithium carbonate manufacturing plant in operation in the world.
-An annual production capacity of 20,000 tons.
-Total revenue 0.729 billion RMB.
·Shehong
-Annual production capacity of lithium compounds and derivatives is 24,200 tons (including lithium carbonate, hydroxide, chloride and metal).
-Total revenue 0.976 billion RMB.
·Chongqing
-Annual production capacity of lithium metal 600 tons.
·Kwinana
-Lithium Hydroxide Production Plant 1 (LHPP1) is being commissioned and striving to reach nameplate production on the fourth quarter of 2022.
-A leading battery-grade lithium hydroxide manufacturing hub close to key raw materials supply and better access to global end-market customers.
-Annual production capacity of 48,000 tons when fully constructed and operational.
Strategic Investment
·SQM（25.86%）
SQM reports revenue totaled US$1,817.2 million for the year 2020 with a net income of US$164.5 million.
-Lithium carbonate production surpassed 70,000 metric tons in the year 2020 and SQM is optimistic about new lithium carbonate expansion which is expected to reach 120,000 metric tons by the end of 2021 and 180,000 tons at the end of 2023.
-Lithium sales volumes rose more than 40% in the year of 2020 to 64,600 metric tons and is expected to surpass 80,000 tons at the end of 2023.
-SQM signs long-term lithium contract with LG Energy Solution (2021 to 2029). In total, the contract considers approximately 55,000 metric tons of LCE.
-SQM signs long-term lithium hydroxide supply agreement (from 2021 to at least 2028) with Johnson Matthey which will provide enough lithium hydroxide to power approximately 500,000 full electric vehicles.
-SQM board approves Mt Holland lithium project. An expected initial production capacity of 50,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide battery grade with first production coming online during the second half of 2024 if all necessary permits are received as anticipated.
·XTC New Energy Materials (Xiamen) Co.,Ltd (3%)
-Total revenue 7.99 billion RMB, net income 0.252 billion RMB.
-One of the world's important manufacturers in the field of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
-IPO on STAR Market of Shanghai Stock Exchange was approved at the end of December, 2020.
·Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology Co., LTD (5%)
-WeLion focuses on the development and manufacture of hybrid solid/liquid electrolyte batteries and all-solid lithium batteries.
-The only industrialization platform for solid-state battery technology in the Clean Energy Laboratory of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
·SolidEnergy（10.76%）
·Shanghai Aerospace Power Technology Co., Ltd (18.64%)
·The Zhabuye Salt Lake (20%)
-The Lake contains 1.83 million tons LCE of lithium resources.
R&D results
·Leading or participating in the formulation of 22 Chinese industry standards.
·Obtained 12 authorized invention patents, 12 utility model patents, and three appearance patents.
·As of December 31, 2020, the company has a total of 153 patents of various types.
·The company's technology center was identified as a "National Enterprise Technology Center".
Big events of 2020
·COVID-19 Pandemic
-The COVID-19 pandemic occurred at the beginning of 2020. The company's domestic and overseas plants cooperated with epidemic prevention, resumed production in an orderly and safe manner, actively fulfilled corporate social responsibilities, donated medical supplies in a timely manner.
·IGO | Deal with IGO
-Australian miner IGO Ltd. will pay US$1.4 billion in cash for a 49% stake in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia. Tianqi will use the proceeds to repay $1.2 billion of principal on existing acquisition loan, as well as for working capital for Kwinana project.
-To date, the transaction is progressing smoothly. Except for the approval of Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the tax authorities of the United Kingdom and Australia on the internal restructure of the transaction, the remaining conditions have been completed. Relevant external approval work is progressing, and so far there have been no substantial obstacles such as rejection or prohibition.
·Major Acquisition Debt Extension
-Tianqi signed an amendment and extension deed with lenders to defer acquisition debts to November 2021.
Outlook of 2021
·Key words: Deleverage, Production, Efficiency
-Continue to steadily advance the IGO's transaction, reduce the company's financial expenses, and ease the company's financial pressure.
-Expand financing tools to further ease the pressure on liquidity, with a view to fundamentally optimizing the asset-liability structure and improving profitability and cash flow.
-Enhance industrial synergy, achieve capacity expansion and cost reduction, and strive to make Tianqi Lithium Kwinana start production as soon as possible and improve the company's market share and industry competitiveness.
-Continue to strengthen technology research and development, improve the competitiveness of high-end lithium products, aim at the inevitable trend of the future development of high-density solid-state lithium batteries, and carry out a forward-looking strategic technological layout.
