The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is under the spotlight today after giving a profit update for the HY25 result.
Pilbara Minerals is one of the largest lithium miners on the ASX.
HY25 result update
Pilbara Minerals said it’s in the process of finishing its HY25 financials and it’s expecting to release its report on 20 February 2025.
The ASX lithium share said it’s expecting its underlying EBITDA to be between $71 million to $75 million and the underlying net loss after tax is predicted to be between $5 million to $7 million.
Those underlying numbers include record production and sales volumes from its core Pilgangoora operation and cost reductions from the P850 operating model.
Pilbara Minerals said this period included major expansion programs across its operations with the P680 expansion project competed on schedule and on budget.
After the end of December, construction of the P1000 project was completed and its first ore production was achieved on 31 January 2025.
Other highlights hitting profit
The company also noted that a few other cost items/profit hits related to its investments in new growth platforms such as the joint venture with POSCO and the mid-stream demonstration plant project, including amounts of $16 million, $22 million and $24 million.
The $24 million relates to demonstration plant project construction costs.
Including those above items and other “small” one-off transaction costs, its statutory EBITDA is expected to be between $45 million to $49 million and its statutory net loss is projected to be between $68 million to $71 million.
It had a total cash balance of $1.2 billion at 31 December 2024.
Management commentary
The Pilbara Minerals CEO and managing director Dale Henderson said:
Beyond our core business, we advanced our chemicals strategy to increase our exposure to value-added battery chemicals while further diversifying our supply chain. During the period, the PPLS JV and Midstream Demonstration Plant project progressed through their ramp-up and development phases respectively. These projects continue to reflect the effects of current lower market pricing, development costs or ramp up costs as shown in the expected results. We remain very positive about the long-term potential of these strategic investments and both projects offer a staged investment pathway for future scale-up at PLS’ discretion.
We continue to be excited about the long-term outlook for the lithium market and will grow the business in step with market dynamics. This consistent strategy of incremental investment, aligned with market conditions, is underpinned by the strong operating foundation at our Pilgangoora Operation and a solid balance sheet with $1.2 billion of cash as at December 2024.
Final thoughts on the Pilbara Minerals share price
The ASX lithium share has suffered through the lower lithium prices, and it’s really showing in the company’s results. With the share price so low, it could be a good time to look at the lithium miner, but future success depends on how much lithium demand and prices increase in the coming years, which is hard to say. Increasing supply is a headwind.
It’s not the sort of investment I’m excited by, but it could pay off for a brave contrarian investor.
