Lithium Argentina (LAR) swung to a profit in the first quarter as the company's average lithium sale prices more than doubled over the year.
The company swung to a $7.5mn profit in January-March from a $7.2mn loss in the first quarter of 2025, as its average realized lithium prices climbed to $16,818/metric tonne (t) from $8,085/t. LAR sells lithium at a 6-7pc discount to Chinese reference prices, excluding VAT, chief-executive Sam Pigott said.
Argus-assessed ex-works China lithium carbonate prices, with VAT excluded, averaged $19.628/kg ($19,628/t) in the first quarter.
LAR's lithium sales totalled $168mn, meaning it sold roughly 9,990t of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in the first three months of the year.
LAR's flagship project in Argentina, Cauchari-Olaroz, has a 40,000 t/yr LCE capacity, and the company produced 9,660t of LCE in the first three months of 2026, maintaining output at around 97pc of the project's designed capacity. Production increased by 34pc compared with the same period last year and was steady with the previous quarter, as ramp-up is nearly concluded.
Production was in line with the company's full-year production guidance of 35,000-40,000t.
LAR's business has been [relatively unscathed by the US-Iran war, as oil and gas costs make up less than 3pc of its operational costs, according to Pigott.
"We feel very good about our cost profile and our insulation against broader inflationary trends globally," Pigott said Thursday on the company's earnings call.Cauchari-Olaroz is managed by Minera Exar, a joint-venture between LAR, China's Ganfeng Lithium and provincial-owned firm JEMSE.
