Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today net income for the three months ended March 31, 2026, of US$364.7 million or US$1.28 per share, an increase of 165.2% compared to US$137.5 million or US$0.48 per share reported for the same period last year.
Gross profit(1) reached US$778.6 million (44.2% of revenues) for the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than US$304.7 million (29.4% of revenues) recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Revenues totaled US$1,760.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, representing an increase of 69.8% compared to US$1,036.6 million reported for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo Ramos, stated, "We delivered strong results during the first quarter of the year. In lithium, sales volumes reached approximately 69 thousand metric tons of LCE across our operations, as we continued to operate at full capacity to meet strong customer demand. Based on our current estimates, global lithium demand could exceed 1.9 million metric tons of LCE this year, while market dynamics continue to suggest a tight supply-demand balance. As a result, we have upgraded our sales volume guidance for the year, increasing our expected growth from 10% to 15%."
He added, "The first quarter of 2026 marked our first full quarter operating alongside CODELCO through our partnership Nova Andino Litio, and the results underscore the strength of this partnership. We are operating at full capacity, delivering strong financial results, while we continue to expand production capacity. In the first quarter alone, Nova Andino Litio generated more than US$530 million in contributions to the Chilean state, including payments to CORFO, local governments, and taxes."
"We are currently finalizing the documentation required to begin the environmental permitting process for the Salar Futuro project. We expect to submit the project to the environmental authorities in the coming months and to share further details with the market in the near term. This project will be developed by Nova Andino, and we are very enthusiastic about its potential to establish a new benchmark in lithium production."
Mr. Ramos continued, "In our SPN business lines, we are also increasing our sales volume guidance for the year. We now expect total sales volumes to grow by approximately 10% compared to last year, driven by tighter supply conditions in Asia. This reflects reduced export availability, as Chinese producers prioritize domestic consumption and scale back potassium nitrate shipments, creating opportunities for us to serve previously undersupplied markets."
He further noted, "In Iodine, we observed strong sales volumes and higher year-over-year prices, a trend we expect to continue into the next quarter. We are maintaining our full-year sales volume guidance, with volumes expected to be in line with last year. The seawater pipeline is currently in the commissioning phase, and we expect to bring it online during the second half of the year."
The CEO concluded, "We continue to see positive market dynamics across our key business lines, particularly in lithium, while remaining optimistic about our iodine and specialty plant nutrition segments. We believe we are well positioned to deliver solid results and improved returns to our shareholders, while continuing to advance our expansion plans in both lithium and iodine"
To see full press release please visit: https://ir.sqm.com/
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