Core Insights - The company reported a significant decline in revenue and net profit for the year 2024, marking its first annual loss since going public [1][2] - The drop in lithium prices was identified as the primary reason for the poor performance, with a notable decrease in the average price of lithium carbonate [1][2] Financial Performance - The company's total revenue for 2024 was 18.91 billion yuan, a decrease of 42.66% compared to the previous year [1] - The net loss attributable to shareholders was 2.07 billion yuan, a shift from a profit of 4.95 billion yuan in 2023, representing a decline of 141.93% [1] - The net profit after excluding non-recurring items was a loss of 887 million yuan, down 133.16% from a profit of 2.68 billion yuan in 2023 [1] - Basic and diluted earnings per share were both -1.03 yuan, compared to 2.46 yuan in the previous year, reflecting a decrease of 141.87% [1] Business Operations - The lithium series products contributed 12.02 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year decrease of 50.88% [1] - Revenue from lithium battery series was 5.90 billion yuan, down 23.49% year-on-year [1] - The overall gross margin fell to 10.82%, a decrease of 2.86% from the previous year, with the lithium salt business gross margin at only 10.47% [1] Strategic Developments - The company is advancing its global resource layout with multiple projects coming online, including the Cauchari-Olaroz salt lake project in Argentina and the Goulamina spodumene project in Mali [2] - Plans are in place to achieve an annual supply capacity of no less than 600,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2030 through innovative extraction technologies [2] - The company achieved breakthroughs in solid-state battery research, enhancing the conductivity of sulfide solid electrolytes, which supports the commercialization of solid-state batteries [2] - The battery recycling business has reached an annual processing capacity of 200,000 tons, with a lithium recovery rate exceeding 90% [2] - The company reported significant growth in the energy storage sector, with production and sales of power storage batteries reaching 11,439.5 MWh and 8,195.4 MWh, respectively, marking a year-on-year increase of 98.73% [2]