Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is bouncing back, with its share price rising 6.55 per cent over the past five days and 8.8 per cent over the past month.
This comes despite a 30.09 per cent drop since the start of 2025, which can be largely put down to the enduring lithium downturn.
Despite reporting a 34 per cent drop in production and a 39 per cent drop in sales for the March quarter, due in part to Tropical Cyclone Zelia and planned operational adjustments, investors are buying back into PLS’ long-term strategy and disciplined approach, which sees them targeting one million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of spodumene production.
“This strategy has been pursued over a multi-year horizon and has involved carefully timing production capacity growth in line with market demand, while simultaneously enhancing the business’ competitiveness through targeted investment, continuous improvement initiatives and further maturing the balance sheet,” PLS said.
“As a result of this focused approach, the group is in a strong position – underpinned by a robust balance sheet, diversified strategic supply relationships with Tier 1 global chemical partners, and an enhanced operating platform that will continue to deliver cost efficiencies as processing optimisation progresses.”
While the Ngungaju plant was placed in care and maintenance in December 2024, and six days of production was lost to the cyclone, PLS continues to advance its P1000 project (1Mtpa of production) and transition to the P850 operating model (850,000tpa of production), delivering further cost reductions.
“Looking forward, the group is focused on optimisation of the P850 operating model and a dedicated internal team has been tasked with identifying and executing a pipeline of continuous improvement and cost reduction initiatives, expected to drive further savings across FY26 (2025–26 financial year) and FY27,” it said.
“In combination with this operational agility, the group’s strong balance sheet represents a key strategic advantage in the current market environment. The lithium sector remains high-growth but inherently dynamic.”
