Highlights
- SQM reported net income(1) for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2022 of US$3,906.3 million compared to US$585.5 million for the same period the year
before. Earnings per share totaled US$13.68 for the first twelve months ended
December 31, 2022, significantly
higher than the US$2.05 reported for
the same period of 2021.
- Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, were US$10,710.6 million.
- During the twelve months ended December
31, 2022, contributions to the Chilean treasury surpassed
US$5.0 billion.
SQM will hold a conference call to discuss these results on
Thursday, March 2, at 10:00am ET (12:00pm
Chile time).
Participant Dial-In (Toll
Free): 1-877-344-7529
Participant
International Dial-In: 1-412-317-0088
Webcast:
https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=Ntu0zVAP
SANTIAGO, Chile, March 2,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sociedad Química y Minera de
Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A)
reported today earnings for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2022, of US$3,906.3
million (US$13.68 per ADR), an
increase from US$585.5 million
(US$2.05 per ADR) for the
twelve months ended December 31, 2021.
Gross profit(2) reached US$5,736.6 million (53.6% of revenues) for the
twelve months ended December 31, 2022, higher than
US$1,090.1 million (38.1% of
revenues) recorded for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2021. Revenues totaled US$10,710.6 million for the twelve months
ended December 31, 2022, representing an increase of over 274%
compared to US$2,862.3 million
reported for the twelve months ended December 31,
2021.
The Company also announced earnings for the fourth quarter of
2022, reporting net income of US$1,151.0
million (US$4.03 per ADR)
compared to US$321.6 million
(US$1.13 per ADR) for the fourth
quarter of 2021. Gross profit(2) for the fourth
quarter of 2022 reached US$1,641.9
million, higher than the US$542.8
million recorded for the fourth quarter of 2021. Revenues
totaled US$3,133.6 million, an
increase of approximately 189% compared to the fourth quarter of
2021, when revenues amounted to US$1,084.3
million.
SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo
Ramos, stated: "We are well pleased with the extraordinary
results that the company delivered in 2022. While the positive
price environment during the year contributed to the record
earnings that we published today, our long-term view of the
lithium market, the investments we made in new capacity, the risk
we took and the operational success, all of that well positioned us
to benefit from the market conditions seen last year."
He continued, "The successful public-private alliance we have
with CORFO is also yielding great results, allowing us to
contribute more than US$5 billion to
the Chilean treasury, along with important contributions to local
governments and neighboring communities."
He went on by saying, "As electric vehicle sales continue to
grow, we now expect the lithium demand to reach almost 1.5 million
metric tons by 2025. This strong demand growth expectations give us
confidence as we remain focused on expanding our lithium production
capacity. In Chile, we have
reached a run-rate of 180,000 metric tons of high-quality lithium
products while working to further expand our lithium carbonate and
lithium hydroxide capacity. With our lithium project in
Australia in construction, we
expect to be producing spodumene from the Mt. Holland site by the end of the year and
lithium hydroxide during the first half of 2025. The Sichuan refinery is expected to be completed
in the second quarter this year while we continue to invest in
lithium exploration. Our 2023-2025 revised capital expenditure plan
reflects our growth plans during this period."
The CEO closed by saying, "Last year, we announced our vision
for the sustainable future of lithium mining operations in the
Salar de Atacama. Our team is fully dedicated advancing on the
technical documentation that we expect to submit for evaluation to
the Chilean authorities in 2024. We remain very optimistic about
the Salar Futuro project, which when implemented, will
ensure that the lithium products from the Salar de Atacama are
produced in the most sustainable way, setting new standards, not
just for the lithium industry, but for the mining industry as a
whole."
Sustainable Development
In line with our sustainability goals, during 2022, we continued
with IRMA certification process and completed on-site certification
audit (phase 2) in the Salar de Atacama operation. We expect to
receive final report in the coming months.
In 2022, we participated in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices
(DJSI) assessment and were accepted into the MILA and Chile indices for the third consecutive year
and were included in the Sustainability Yearbook 2023.
Additionally, we evaluated ourselves in Carbon Disclosure Project
(CDP) where we obtained category B, which is in the management
band, higher than the South American region average (C) and higher
than the Chemicals sector average (-B).
During 2022, we completed the phase 2 of ISO 14001 and 45001
certification process in Salar de Atacama and the Carmen chemical
plant, and continued with the implementation process of ISO 50001
in the Salar de Atacama and Nueva
Victoria to support decarbonization goals associated with
energy management systems.
About SQM
SQM is a global company that is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock
Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A). SQM develops and produces diverse products
for several industries essential for human progress, such as
health, nutrition, renewable energy and technology through
innovation and technological development. We aim to maintain our
leading world position in the lithium, potassium nitrate, iodine
and thermo-solar salts markets.
For further information, contact:
Gerardo Illanes 56–2–24252022 /
gerardo.illanes@sqm.com
Kelly O'Brien 56–2–24252074 /
kelly.obrien@sqm.com
Irina Axenova 56–2–24252280 /
irina.axenova@sqm.com
Isabel Bendeck 56–2–24252074 /
isabel.bendeck@sqm.com
For media inquiries, contact:
Maria Ignacia Lopez /
ignacia.lopez@sqm.com
Pablo Pisani /
pablo.pisani@sqm.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate,"
"plan," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "should,"
"will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we
make concerning the Company's capital expenditures, financing
sources, Sustainable Development Plan, Salar Futuro Plan, business
and demand outlook, future economic performance, anticipated sales
volumes, profitability, revenues, expenses, or other financial
items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line
growth.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, they are estimates that
reflect the best judgment of SQM management based on currently
available information. Because forward-looking statements relate to
the future, they involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other
factors that are outside of our control and could cause actual
results to differ materially from those stated in such statements,
including our ability to successfully implement the Sustainable
Development Plan. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these
forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents
filed by SQM with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the most recent annual report on
Form 20–F, which identifies other important risk factors that
could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are
based on information available to SQM on the date hereof and SQM
assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except
as required by law.
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SOURCE Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, S.A. (SQM)