Lithium miner Albemarle forecast full-year profit above estimates on Wednesday, but warned that the company's annual performance will be subdued, following reduced global economic activity due to the global pandemic.
Lithium producers raised output last year in anticipation of a demand rush from EV manufacturers going into 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic slammed the brakes on the electrification revolution and dented global automobile sales.
The company said it expects full-year net sales to be between $3.05-billion and $3.15-billion.
Albemarle forecast annual adjusted earnings between $3.80 a share and $4.15 a share, compared with analysts' estimates of $3.52 a share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
The company had withdrawn its 2020 outlook in May, citing the impact from the virus outbreak.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $98.3-million, or 92c a share, in the quarter ended September 30, from $155.1-million, or $1.46 a share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company earned $1.09 a share, beating estimates of 78c a share.