- A union at Albemarle's (ALB -5.2%) Atacama lithium operations in Chile tells Reuters it rejected the company's latest labor contract offer, maintaining a strike that has lasted for more than a month.
- The union, which comprises about half the workers at the company's key Salar production plant, has said it is pushing for improvements in working conditions and wage equality.
- Albemarle repeats its assertion that it had a "solid" contingency plan to continue to meet its customers needs during the walk-off.
- Albemarle shares rose as much as 4% on Friday to an intraday record after providing a strong long-term growth outlook in an Investors Day presentation.
- President Eric Norris said the company expects to more than double its current lithium capacity to 450K-500K tons by the end of decade to "enable the EV revolution."
- Several analysts responded to the presentation by raising stock price targets, including a new Street-high $296 at Oppenheimer.
- Spot prices for lithium carbonate (LIT -1.9%) in China have soared 170% so far this year to their highest since April 2018, while rices for spodumene, a source of lithium mainly mined in Australia, have climbed 144% YTD.
- But shares are backing off their record highs today after more than doubling over the past year.