Highlights
- Pilbara’s shares traded over 1% on ASX today.
- This outperforms ASX 200 Materials index, which was 1.70% lower at 15,037.90 points today at 12.26 PM AEST.
- The firm announced a full-year profit after tax of AU$561.8 million for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2022.
Shares of Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) were trading in the green on Wednesday (7 September 2022). At 12.22 PM AEST, lithium and tantalum producer’s shares were trading 1.39% higher at AU$4.02 per share on ASX. This outperforms ASX 200 Materials index, which was trading 1.70% lower at 15,037.90 points at 12.26 PM AEST.
While the overall market was down, Pilbara shares were trading higher despite the company not releasing any price sensitive information in the past few days. Today’s rise could be attributed to investors' interest in the company's shares, as around 17.20 million shares had already been traded on ASX by 12.41 PM AEST.
Pilbara’s FY22 report card
Pilbara announced a full-year profit after tax (PAT) of AU$561.8 million for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2022, boosted by extraordinarily strong worldwide demand for lithium raw materials and favourable pricing circumstances for spodumene concentrate, particularly in the second half of the year.
The profit result was driven by the company's world-class Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Operation in Western Australia's Pilbara area, which provided a gross margin from operations of AU$853.5 million (FY2021:AU$46.2 million).
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Data Source- Company announcement dated 22 August 2022
The Pilgan Plant generated AU$708.2 million to the gross margin from operations. In contrast, the Ngungaju Plant contributed AU$145.3 million, even though this plant was re-started, commissioned, and ramped up during FY2022.
Meanwhile, the Australian shares have traded on a weak note so far during the day. On sectoral front, all 11 sectors were trading in the red, and energy was the worst performing sector (-2.50%) followed by utilities and materials sectors at 12.27 PM AEST.
The Australian share market opened lower on Wednesday after Wall Street, which resumed trading following Labor Day holiday, finished in the red in the overnight trade. The major US stock indices were under pressure after the latest US services industry report underlined expectations that Federal Reserve would have to keep hiking interest rates to control surging inflation.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) upped the official cash rate and warned that it may tighten rates further to combat growing consumer costs.