Tianqi Lithium's "loss-to-profit turnaround" as revenue drops by 3 billion but profit increases by 8.3 billion

Ask AI · How can Jiang Anqi resolve the dilemma of declining core business performance and reliance on SQM’s profitability?

Lower revenue, but a turnaround to profit? In its first full fiscal year after “lithium second-generation” Jiang Anqi took the helm, the company delivered a seemingly contradictory set of results.

Tianqi Lithium released its 2025 annual report: operating revenue was 10.346 billion yuan, down 20.8% year over year, a decrease of 3 billion yuan; while the net profit attributable to shareholders reached 463 million yuan, “fully revived” from the massive loss of 7.9 billion yuan in 2024, earning 8.3 billion yuan more than in 2024.

In April 2024, the “post-85s” Jiang Anqi took over the baton from her father Jiang Weiping and became the new chairman of this lithium industry giant. At the time, lithium prices were falling from their peak, the company was experiencing consecutive losses, and everyone was watching this “lithium second-generation” figure, hoping she could steer this giant ship out of the storm.

However, the 2025 financial report reveals a reality—Tianqi Lithium’s core business is still bleeding, cash flow has fallen sharply, and the 463 million yuan in profit is all “helped” by its equity-accounted investee. Jiang Anqi’s performance record is not as impressive as it appears on the surface.

Weak core operations, relying on investees to generate profits

In 2025, Tianqi Lithium’s operating revenue fell across both industry segments and product lines.

By product: revenue from lithium compounds and derivatives was 5.697 billion yuan, down 29.45% year over year; lithium ore revenue was 4.629 billion yuan, down 7.01% year over year. The main driver is “higher volume but lower price”—while sales volume of lithium compounds increased by 24.35%, the price decline was far greater than the increase in volume.

By region: overseas performance is not optimistic. In 2025, Tianqi Lithium’s overseas business gross margin was only 3.21%, down dramatically by 38.23 percentage points compared with 2024. This means that after deducting all direct costs, of every 100 yuan in overseas revenue, only 3.21 yuan remains as gross profit. Can these profits cover overseas sales, management, financing, and other expenses? If not, then Tianqi Lithium’s overseas business in 2025 is essentially “selling at a loss to make noise.”

Tianqi Lithium’s revenue-generating ability has declined, yet its net profit attributable to shareholders jumped from the -7.9 billion yuan loss in 2024 to 463 million yuan in 2025. Where did the money come from? The answer is equity-accounted investee SQM (a Chilean chemical mining company).

In 2025, SQM’s net profit, converted to RMB, was about 4.181 billion yuan, soaring significantly year over year. Tianqi Lithium holds about 21.90% equity in SQM, and under the equity method it recognized investment gains of 665 million yuan. This amount already far exceeds Tianqi Lithium’s full-year net profit.

In other words, in 2025 Tianqi Lithium was able to report a profit on its books not because of an improvement in its core operations, but because SQM—an equity investee—contributed investment income of 665 million yuan. Without this external support, relying solely on its main business, the company would still be stuck in the quagmire of losses.

Even more concerning is how long SQM’s “good times” can last. In May 2024, SQM and Chile’s National Copper Corporation (Codelco) signed a “partnership agreement,” under which starting in 2031 SQM will no longer control the core lithium business in Chile’s Atacama. Tianqi Lithium brought a lawsuit for this, but in January 2026, Chile’s Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in the final ruling. This means that the most important profit stabilizer for SQM faces enormous uncertainty going forward.

Tightening cash flow, yet still making large-scale investments of 6.2 billion

When the core business is weak, cash flow tightens. In 2025, Tianqi Lithium’s net cash flow from operating activities was 2.961 billion yuan, down 46.70% year over year. The company’s explanation was that “cash received corresponding to operating revenue and the gross profit amount both declined compared with the prior year.” In other words, not only is the company making less money, but the cash it actually receives from profits has also shrunk sharply. Meanwhile, the company’s cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet fell from 5.767 billion yuan at the beginning of 2025 to 4.382 billion yuan at year-end—nearly 1.4 billion yuan evaporated within a year.

For investors holding Tianqi Lithium, what matters most is one line in the 2025 annual report: “The company plans not to distribute cash dividends, will not issue bonus shares, and will not increase share capital by converting capital reserve funds.”

The company’s stated reason is: taking into account the actual development situation at the present stage, the funding needs for project investment, and its medium- and long-term strategic plan. Then, where did the money go? The data on construction in progress and capital expenditures in Tianqi Lithium’s financial report provides the answer.

The largest investment is Australia’s Greenbush chemical-grade lithium concentrate plant No. 3. Cumulative investment in this project has nearly reached 5 billion yuan RMB. Although the project was completed in December 2025 and produced its first batch of qualified products on January 30, 2026, it still has a long capacity ramp-up period before it reaches stable full production.

The second is the Jiangsu Zhangjiagang annual 30,000-ton lithium hydroxide project. Cumulative investment is about 1.18 billion yuan. It was completed in July 2025, and that same year in October it confirmed that product parameters met the requirements. It is also currently in the capacity ramp-up stage and has not yet achieved full production. The third is the domestic resource layout—Sichuan Yajiang Cuocula lithium spodumene mine. This project is still in the exploration and early-stage construction phase, and its cumulative investment is currently about 20.71 million yuan.

All three projects combined have already invested more than 6.2 billion yuan.

For Jiang Anqi, who fully took over the chairmanship, this is undoubtedly a dilemma: on one side are three major projects that have already sunk 6.2 billion yuan—Greenbush’s plant No. 3 has just begun production, Jiangsu Zhangjiagang’s project is still ramping up, and Sichuan Yajiang’s mine is still underground—these sunk costs must continue to be invested to generate future returns; on the other side, lithium prices are still hovering at low levels, operating cash flow has been cut in half, and cash on the balance sheet has evaporated by 1.4 billion yuan within one year.

If they keep burning cash, cash flow could deteriorate further; if they stop, the huge upfront investments made earlier may not be recoverable. Tianqi Lithium still faces many challenges ahead.

Xinhua Daily? Jingbao Shell Finance reporter Lin Zi

Editor Yang Juanjuan

Proofreader Jia Ning