--- title: "Soaring 147%! The 200-billion-yuan lithium mining leader continues to deliver on its performance." type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/39950891.md" description: "The non-ferrous metals cycle continues to recover, with many industry giants delivering "report cards" that satisfy the market. Particularly in the lithium mining sector, since hitting a low in the middle of last year, the sector's gains have exceeded 200% at their peak. As of the latest close, the futures price of lithium carbonate has broken through 160,000 yuan per ton, indicating the industry has completely emerged from the trough. On April 13th, Salt Lake Co., Ltd. released its preliminary first-quarter 2026 results. The financial report shows that the company achieved revenue of 6.432 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 94.89%; net profit reached 2.939 billion yuan, a sharp year-on-year surge of 147.44%; and adjusted net profit was 2.814 billion yuan..." datetime: "2026-04-16T01:21:23.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/39950891.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/39950891.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/39950891.md) author: "[侃见财经](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/3206955.md)" --- # Soaring 147%! The 200-billion-yuan lithium mining leader continues to deliver on its performance. The non-ferrous metals cycle continues to recover, with many industry giants delivering "report cards" that satisfy the market. Especially in the lithium mining industry, since hitting a low point in the middle of last year, the sector's gains have exceeded 200% at their peak. As of the latest close, lithium carbonate futures prices have broken through 160,000 yuan per ton, indicating the industry has completely emerged from its trough. On April 13th, Salt Lake Co., Ltd. released its Q1 2026 earnings flash report. The financial report shows that in Q1 this year, the company achieved revenue of 6.432 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 94.89%; net profit reached 2.939 billion yuan, a surge of 147.44% year-on-year; and adjusted net profit was 2.814 billion yuan, up 137.01% year-on-year. Regarding the sharp increase in performance, Salt Lake Co., Ltd. stated it was mainly due to the production of approximately 877,300 tons of potassium chloride and sales of about 1.3297 million tons during the reporting period; lithium carbonate production was about 19,500 tons, with sales of approximately 16,800 tons. Driven by increased sales volume and higher product prices year-on-year, the profitability of the potassium chloride segment grew significantly. Simultaneously, the company's 40,000-ton/year basic lithium salt project achieved mass production, boosting lithium carbonate production and sales year-on-year. Coupled with the upward trend in market prices, this contributed to the substantial overall performance growth. Furthermore, during the reporting period, the company included Minmetals Salt Lake in its consolidated financial statements. Minmetals Salt Lake achieved a net profit attributable to the parent company's owners of 159 million yuan, accounting for 5.42% of the company's consolidated net profit attributable to the parent company's owners. Looking at the overall trend of the financial reports, influenced by the industry cycle, Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s performance peaked in 2022. After about three years of cyclical adjustment, the company's revenue plummeted from 30.739 billion yuan in 2022 to 15.501 billion yuan in 2025, and net profit also dropped from 15.568 billion yuan to 8.476 billion yuan. Fortunately, after the second half of 2025, with the sharp rise in lithium carbonate prices and increased market demand for potash fertilizer, Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s performance began to gradually recover. The financial report shows that in Q4 2025, the company's net profit had risen to 3.973 billion yuan; entering 2026, the company's performance continued to improve, with single-quarter revenue approaching the level of the same period in 2022. Reflected in the capital market, Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s stock price saw a maximum increase of over 150% in the past year. As of the latest close, the company's total market capitalization is close to 200 billion yuan, nearing the 2021 high. By product category, as of the end of 2025, Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s potassium product revenue was 12.03 billion yuan, accounting for 77.61% of total revenue; lithium product revenue was 2.912 billion yuan, accounting for 18.79% of total revenue. This means the company's recent performance recovery is mainly due to rising potassium product prices. According to Longzhong Information data, the average price of Qinghai Salt Lake potassium chloride (60% powder) in Q1 reached 3,100 yuan per ton, an increase of about 450 yuan per ton compared to the average price in the same period last year. The financial report shows that Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s potassium chloride sales volume in Q1 2025 was 891,100 tons, while this figure has increased to 1.3297 million tons in Q1 this year. It is worth noting that although the price increase of potassium chloride is not as high as that of lithium carbonate, the overall profitability of the segment has still improved significantly. Additionally, the growth expectations for production and sales of Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s lithium salt business this year are very clear. In 2025, the company added 40,000 tons of integrated lithium salt capacity. Combined with the subsidiary Minmetals Salt Lake included in the consolidated statements, the company's total lithium salt capacity will increase from 40,000 tons in 2025 to 98,000 tons, a capacity increase of 145%. Therefore, we are optimistic about Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s continued volume growth in performance this year. It is understood that the full cost of lithium extraction from salt lakes in Qinghai, Tibet, and other regions currently ranges from 30,000 to 40,000 yuan per ton. For salt lake lithium extraction enterprises, the current spot price of lithium carbonate, stable at 150,000 yuan per ton, is undoubtedly a "high-margin" product. Industry data shows that in March 2026, China's energy storage battery sales reached 60.4 GWh, accounting for 34.5% of total battery sales, achieving significant growth both sequentially and year-on-year, with a year-on-year increase exceeding 115%. From January to March this year, cumulative energy storage battery sales also maintained rapid growth, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of over 111%. Energy storage batteries have become the core force driving the growth of the entire battery industry. Consequently, we judge that market demand for the lithium mining sector will also remain at a high level. Some industry insiders stated that temperatures in Qinghai were relatively low in Q1, which is the off-season for salt lake resource development. As the weather in Qinghai gradually warms up, salt lake resource development will enter its prime. If lithium battery demand remains strong, Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s full-year performance is worth anticipating. Kan Jian Finance believes that, as a cyclical industry, the current lithium carbonate price still has significant room for growth compared to the previous cycle's high, and potassium chloride prices also have upward potential. Based on Salt Lake Co., Ltd.'s current performance growth rate, the company's performance in the next two years is expected to return to previous highs. Therefore, we are optimistic about the company's continued performance delivery. ### Related Stocks - [000792.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/000792.CN.md)