SQM.US (Chilean Mining & Chemicals) reported a 63.2% YoY decline in Q2 net income, and expects the lithium price to remain in a downtrend in the second half of the year.

Chilean Codelco, the world's second-largest copper producer, reported a 63.2% year-on-year drop in net income for the second quarter, below expectations, as the price of the metal fell. The company also expects the trend to continue for the rest of the year.

Codelco reported second-quarter revenue of $1.29bn, down 36.9 per cent year-on-year, in line with analyst expectations; net income of $213m, down 63.2 per cent year-on-year, below analysts’ expectations of $296.7m; and earnings per share of $0.75, below analysts’ expectations of $0.95.

Despite reporting record copper sales, Codelco’s performance was weighed down by the sharp fall in the price of the battery metal. Ricardo Ramos, the company’s chief executive, said the trend would continue throughout the year.

A basket of copper prices tracked by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has fallen by about 70 per cent in the past year, partly because of high borrowing costs and global uncertainty that have led to weaker-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.

“Some copper producers might reduce production because the price is not economically viable,” Mr Ramos said. The company said it would continue its expansion plans, although it was reassessing “specific markets and initiatives that might not be as attractive in the short term in this scenario”.