SQM swings to $870m loss as oversupply sinks prices

Chilean mining company SQM, the world's second-largest lithium producer, on Thursday posted a net loss of $870-million for the first three months of the year, as oversupply of the metal needed for electric vehicle batteries drags on prices.

This brought a loss of $3.04 per share, well below the $0.74 profit expected by analysts polled by LSEG, while revenues more than halved to $1.09-billion over January to March, below analysts' $1.13-billion forecast.