American Battery Technology Co‘s (NASDAQ: ABAT) latest set of improved numbers failed to impress the market. Shares slipped around 4.5 per cent the day after the company published its full-year figures, closing near US$2.36. Investors simply shrugged at the progress.
The company released its results for the year ended Jun. 30 on Sept. 14. Revenue jumped 407 per cent to US$21.7 million from US$4.3 million the year before. Adjusted gross profit turned positive at US$1.7 million after a US$6.2 million loss previously. Cash rose sharply to US$49.5 million, total assets climbed to US$132.8 million and the firm carried no debt.
But, the company still posted a gross loss of US$3.1 million. Significantly, the GAAP net loss widened to US$73.4 million from US$46.8 million as operating expenses more than doubled. Much of the growth came from higher volumes and better prices of recycled battery materials, but profitability at the bottom line looks distant. Investors appear more focused on the cash still needed for bigger projects.
This mixed bag sits alongside other recent advances. In late August, US Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson visited the company’s Nevada sites to see the commercial recycling plant and the lithium demonstration facility. Shortly afterwards the Bureau of Land Management accepted the mine and refinery plan of operations for the Tonopah Flats project, moving it further through the federal process.
Even so, Tonopah Flats sits well behind the larger American lithium projects. Lithium Americas Corp (TSE: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) (FRA: WUC) is already building Thacker Pass and aims for mechanical completion in late 2027 with first production the following year. ioneer’s (NASDAQ: IONR) Rhyolite Ridge operation is also further advanced in permitting and engineering, targeting a final investment decision later this year. Tonopah Flats is smaller in planned scale for now and still years from production.
American Battery Technology occupies a modest niche in the U.S. lithium sector. Its recycling operation generates revenue and the lithium project holds a sizeable resource, but both remain far from mature. The company has improved its operations and strengthened its balance sheet, but it is still burning cash and faces long development timelines.
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