AUSTRALIA's Lynas Rare Earths posted a 55% jump in first-quarter revenue on Thursday, driven by record realised prices for rare earth products and higher production, as the miner's search for a permanent chief entered its 10th month.
The world's largest producer of rare earths outside China said its average selling price rose 88% from a year earlier to a record A$102.1 per kg in the September quarter.
The miner attributed this to improved market pricing, increased bundling of light and heavy rare earth sales, and floor-price contracts covering more than half of its output.
The results come as Lynas continues a succession process that began after former CEO Amanda Lacaze announced her retirement in early January.
Pol Le Roux took the helm on an interim basis in June following Lacaze's departure after more than a decade in the role.
Under Lacaze's watch, Lynas grew from a startup to the world's biggest producer of rare earth elements outside China.
Chairman John Humphrey has previously said the company expects to appoint a new chief executive before its annual general meeting on November 25.
Lynas posted gross sales revenue of A$310.1 million ($218.96 million) for the quarter ended September 30, compared with A$200.2 million a year earlier. That was 18.2% below the Visible Alpha estimate of A$379 million. Sales volume of rare earth oxide fell 17.7% to 3,039 metric tons.
The miner said its Kalgoorlie operations would undergo a planned two-week shutdown in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 while Western Power upgrades the electricity network to improve supply reliability.
Lynas also said its Malaysian processing facility would be shut for a month in the December quarter for scheduled maintenance, resulting in lower production volumes compared with the September quarter.
Shares of the company fell as much as 4.7% to A$11.92, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.4% by 0150 GMT.
($1 = 1.4162 Australian dollars) - Reuters
