Citigold: Tianqi Lithium's first-quarter profit exceeded expectations, maintaining a "buy" rating

Citigroup stated in a research report that Tianqi Lithium is expected to announce a net profit of between 1.7 billion to 2 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year. This is due to the surge in lithium prices since the beginning of the year, as well as a significant increase in investment income from SQM. The bank believes that the better-than-expected performance is mainly attributed to inventory gains. As of the end of last year, the company had around 206,000 tons of lithium ore inventory and 7,400 tons of lithium compound inventory. Considering strong demand from end-users, coupled with occasional supply disruptions, the bank predicts that there is still upward risk to lithium prices in the future. They maintain a "buy" rating on Tianqi Lithium with a target price of 61 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to a forecasted market-to-book ratio of 1.82 times this year.