Reuters Aug 7:
Albemarle Corp, the world’s largest producer of lithium, tripled its quarterly profit, beating expectations, and raised its 2018 forecast on Tuesday as sales surge for the mineral used to make electric car batteries.
The results reflect rising demand from Tesla Inc, Volkswagen AG and others for electric-powered automobiles, which are projected to comprise an increasingly larger share of the global auto market in the coming decades.
Albemarle posted second-quarter net income of $302.5 million, or $2.73 per share, compared with $103.3 million, or 92 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time items, Albemarle earned $1.36 per share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of $1.28 per share.