Orocobre Limited Reports First Half Net Profit After Tax of US$8.2M

Orocobre Limited (ORE: ASX ORL: TSX) (Orocobre ), a leading global producer of lithium carbonate, today released its financial results for the half year to 31 December 2017 (1H FY18).Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482156/Orocobre_Limited_Logo.jpgHighlights:-- 1H FY18 profit(1,2) of US$8.2 million, up from US$7.4 million on theprior comparative period (pcp)-- Total production of 6,072 tonnes of lithium carbonate-- Strong results from the Olaroz Lithium Facility:- revenue of US$63.1M, on sales of 5,532 tonnes of lithium carbonate- EBITDAIX(2) of US$37.2M- average price received of US$11,415/tonne, up from US$9,186/tonne inpcp- gross operating margins of 62% with lithium production costs atUS$4,336/tonne, excluding royalties and corporate costs making Olarozone of the lowest cost producers of lithium chemicals in the world-- Strong corporate balance sheet after recent capital raising with cashbalance of approximately US$335 million with receipt of the secondtranche of Toyota Tsusho funding (subject to shareholder approval)-- Fully funded expansion plans with strategic partner, Toyota Tsusho-- Market fundamentals for lithium remain intact with strong demand growth,tight supply and increasing pricesOrocobre Managing Director and CEO, Richard Seville said: "Orocobre continues to consolidate its position as a mainstream, profitable, low cost producer of lithium carbonate."Strong global market fundamentals for lithium carbonate products persist. Prices continue to rise and we expect to see an increase of approximately 25% in 2H FY18 prices on those received in the 1H FY18."Our plans to expand production at our Olaroz facility have been increased to total production of 42,500 tonnes per annum and we continue work on a 10,000 tonne per annum lithium hydroxide plant to be constructed with our partner Toyota Tsusho Corporation in Japan."Both of these projects are now fully funded," he said.Outlook and guidance and dataSubject to market and operating conditions Orocobre provides the following guidance:Olaroz Lithium Facility-- Approximately 14,000 tonnes of production of lithium carbonate for FY18-- 2H FY18 prices up 25% on 1H FY18-- Capital expenditure of US$12-15 million (for FY18) including CO2recovery equipment, additional spare parts, process optimisationprojects and previously noted pond management and control systems-- Overall pond inventory increased to approximately 45,500 tonnes.Borax Argentina-- Production forecast of 35,000 - 40,000 tonnes for FY18-- Capital expenditure of ~US$2-4 million for FY18Corporate-- Corporate costs of ~US$6 million for FY18Proforma financialsThe Orocobre Group achieved a net profit after tax of US$8.2 million(1) (31 December 2016: US$7.4 million profit), which included its share of net gains/(losses) of the SDJ joint venture of US$13.1 million (31 December 2016: US$9.7 million profit) and an impairment at Borax Argentina of US$1.9 million.Sales de Jujuy PTE and hence the Olaroz Lithium Facility, recorded positive EBITDAIX(2) of US$37.2 million for the six months to 31 December 2017. Borax Argentina recorded EBITDAIX of US$1.0 million which represents a reduced loss of US$1.1 million compared to the previous corresponding period, the operations and expansion studies remain under internal review.Strong cash inflowsThe Olaroz Lithium Facility (Sales de Jujuy, SDJ SA) continued to generate strong operating cash flows in 1H FY18 enabling it to fully fund a principal and interest payment on the Mizuho project loan. The majority of Standby Letters of Credit against overdraft facilities available to SDJ SA have been repaid and operating cashflow will be utilised by Orocobre to fund expansion plans and continue to improve its operations.F