China’s Lithium Giants Notch Earnings Records on Supply Crunch

A barge pumps brine from an evaporation pond operated by Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co. in this aerial photograph taken in Golmud, Qinghai province, China, on Monday. Photo: Bloomsberg

(Bloomberg) — China’s biggest lithium miners are enjoying a bumper earnings season just as the price of the battery metal approaches record highs amid a supply crunch.

Tianqi Lithium Corp.’s first-half net income skyrocketed by almost 12,000% from a year earlier to a record 10.3 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), it said in a filing on Tuesday. Ganfeng Lithium Co. reported net income soaring more than 400% in the first half to 7.25 billion yuan, although that was at the lower end of its forecast range.