Shares of Livent Corp. LTHM jumped more than 10% in the extended session Tuesday after the lithium miner reported better-than-expected profit and sales for its first quarter, thanks to ongoing demand for the metal, and raised its guidance. Livent earned $114.8 million, or 55 cents a share, compared with $53.2 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Livent earned 60 cents a share. “Continued strength in customer demand supported higher average realized prices across all products in the first quarter,” the miner said. Revenue rose 77% to $254 million, Livent said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Livent to report adjusted earnings of 39 cents a share on sales of $230 million. Livent raised its 2023 guidance and “continues to expect significant growth following record 2022 results,” it said. For the full year, Livent guided for revenue between $1.025 billion and $1.125 billion, and an adjusted EBITDA in a range between $530 million and $600 million. That would represent growth of 32% and 54%, respectively, at the midpoints versus the prior year, Livent said. Shares of Livent ended the regular trading day up 0.6%.
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