A dump truck strikes uncooked ore contained in the pit on the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California, U.S., on Friday, June 7, 2019.
Joe Buglewicz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
MP Materials‘ inventory surged on Friday after the miner narrowed its losses within the second quarter on record production of a key rare earth oxide, elevating hopes amongst traders that the corporate is shifting towards profitability after a giant funding by the Defense Department.
Shares of MP had been greater than 6% in morning buying and selling.
MP booked an adjusted loss of $21.37 million, or 13 cents per share, down 24% in comparison with $28 million, or 17 cents per share, in the identical interval a yr in the past. Its gross sales jumped 84% to $57.4 million in comparison with $31.3 million in second quarter of 2024.
The miner produced a record quantity of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide within the quarter. NdPr is the principle uncooked materials in everlasting magnets which are utilized in electrical automobile motors, robotics and electronics. MP produced 597 metric tons of NdPr within the second quarter, a 119% enhance over final yr.
MP is presently within the strategy of ramping up magnet production at its Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The facility will provide magnets to General Motors for its electrical automobiles as nicely as different producers.
“The next step is transferring this capability from trial production to scale production,” CEO James Litinsky mentioned on MP’s earnings name Thursday night. “Commissioning at the factory is accelerating. Momentum is building as we progress toward commercial magnet production later this year.”
MP’s second quarter outcomes come after the corporate introduced two transformative offers final month.
The Defense Department agreed to buy $400 million of the corporate’s most well-liked inventory, making the federal authorities MP’s largest shareholder. The Pentagon additionally set a worth ground for NdPr and agreed to purchase 100% of the offtake from a brand new magnet facility that MP will construct.
Days later, MP introduced that Apple will invest $500 million in its production by means of the acquisition of rare earth magnets and can assist launch a rare earth recycling facility.