Sigma Lithium Corp (SGML) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Sigma Lithium 2025 first-quarter earnings conference call. We would like to inform you that, this event is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Irina Axenova, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Sigma Lithium 2025 第一季財報電話會議。我們想通知您，此活動正在被記錄。（操作員指示）現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Irina Axenova。請繼續。

Good morning, thank you all for joining us for Sigma Lithium's first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Speaking on today's calls will be Ana Cabral, our Co-Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer. I will also be stepping in for Rogerio to cover the financial highlights for the quarter. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that, this call is being recorded and webcast live. Today's presentation includes forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures.

早安，感謝大家參加 Sigma Lithium 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我們的聯合主席兼首席執行官 Ana Cabral 將出席今天的電話會議並發表講話。我還將代替羅傑裡奧報道本季的財務亮點。在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，本次通話正在錄音並進行網路直播。今天的簡報包括前瞻性陳述和非公認會計準則財務指標。

These statements reflect our current expectations, but involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For further information, please refer to the cautionary statements in our presentation and our public filings with Canadian and US regulators. All of these materials are available on our website. With that, I will now turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Ana Cabral.

這些聲明反映了我們當前的預期，但涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果大不相同。欲了解更多信息，請參閱我們演示文稿中的警示聲明以及我們向加拿大和美國監管機構提交的公開文件。所有這些材料都可以在我們的網站上找到。現在，我將把電話轉給我們的執行長 Ana Cabral。

Ana, please go ahead.

安娜，請繼續。

Good morning. I'm very pleased to present you with our first quarter 2025 results. Over the last two years, we've transformed Sigma from an emerging producer to a leading global lithium company. Our core strategic advantage is our resilience to lithium price cycles. Our competitive advantage is a direct result of operational efficiency that drives the way we run our business because we focus on the elements that we can control, mainly continuously lowering our production costs.

早安.我很高興向您介紹我們 2025 年第一季的業績。在過去的兩年裡，我們已將 Sigma 從一家新興生產商轉變為全球領先的鋰公司。我們的核心策略優勢是對鋰價格週期的適應能力。我們的競爭優勢直接源自於營運效率，它推動我們的業務運作方式，因為我們專注於我們能夠控制的要素，主要是不斷降低生產成本。

We would like here then to outline our competitive advantages to start this presentation. First, we're strategically well positioned. We industrialize lithium oxide concentrate, which has higher margins than refining. Our plant and our mine are located in Brazil. It's an established industrial and mining jurisdiction with strong rule of law.

我們想在這裡概述一下我們的競爭優勢來開始這次演講。首先，我們的策略定位十分有利。我們將氧化鋰精礦工業化，利潤率比精煉高。我們的工廠和礦場位於巴西。這是一個法治健全、成熟的工業和採礦管轄區。

Second, we are resilient to lithium market price cycles. We are a low-cost producer on an all-in sustaining cost basis. Third, we achieved operational efficiency at scale on all fronts. We have perfected DMS technology to an unprecedented 70% recovery levels at plant that mimics flotation. We have also achieved over 700 days with zero accidents with lost time.

其次，我們能夠抵禦鋰市場價格週期的影響。我們是一家以全維持成本為基礎的低成本生產商。三是全面實現規模化營運效率。我們已經完善了 DMS 技術，在模擬浮選的工廠中回收率達到了前所未有的 70%。我們也實現了超過 700 天的零事故零工時記錄。

Four, we have been rewarded with USD100 million in a heavily subsidized government debt from our development bank, 16 years of term at 2.5% fixed costs in US dollars, because we delivered shared prosperity to one of the poorest regions in the country. As a result, we also earned a social license that determines that basically we receive environmental permits repeatedly achieved on schedule. I want to highlight also that, 100% of our production is uncommitted, which brings the potential to receive prepayments from signing off-take agreements with clients. This is a very standard financing practice in the mining industry and is an untapped funding source that's readily available to us from clients seeking resilient suppliers at this very moment in the lithium price cycle.

第四，由於我們為該國最貧困的地區之一帶來了共同繁榮，我們獲得了開發銀行提供的1億美元高額補貼政府債務，期限為16年，美元固定成本為2.5%。結果，我們也獲得了社會許可，這決定了我們基本上能夠按時獲得環境許可證。我還想強調的是，我們的產品 100% 都是未承諾的，這使得我們有可能透過與客戶簽署承購協議來獲得預付款。這是採礦業中非常標準的融資做法，也是一個尚未開發的資金來源，在鋰價格週期的這個時刻，我們可以輕鬆地從尋求有彈性的供應商的客戶那裡獲得它。

On this page, in this quarter, we want to highlight that we increased the overall resilience of our business. Our key accomplishments were; first, we delivered production volumes on target at 68,300 tonnes. This demonstrates the operational efficiency of the Greentech industrial plant. Secondly, we delivered all in sustaining costs outperforming our target by 6%. We are now at $622 a tonne.

在此頁面上，在本季度，我們想要強調的是，我們提高了業務的整體彈性。我們的主要成就是：首先，我們實現了 68,300 噸的目標產量。這體現了綠色科技工業工廠的營運效率。其次，我們在維持成本的同時實現了超出目標 6% 的業績。目前價格為每噸 622 美元。

This is the quantification of our resilience. And these costs are amongst the lowest in the industry. They're lower than African spodumene operations, either ethically produced like us or not, so we beat the competition. Thirdly, we generated positive cash flow from operations, which translates into this operational resilience, because we make money per tonne of lithium concentrate produced. Therefore, we are easily able to repay some of the more expensive shorter-term duration trade financing debt.

這是對我們的韌性的量化。這些成本是業界最低的。它們的價格低於非洲的鋰輝石礦，無論是否像我們一樣合乎道德地生產，所以我們擊敗了競爭對手。第三，我們從營運中產生了正現金流，這轉化為營運彈性，因為我們每生產一噸鋰精礦就能賺錢。因此，我們能夠輕鬆償還一些成本較高的短期貿易融資債務。

On this page, we have charts that demonstrate numerically the points I just made earlier. We outperformed 2025 targets across the board. When we compare our results versus a year ago, the numbers just showcase how Sigma progressed exponentially. Our EBITDA in the first quarter this year increased 3.5 times from last year, 223%. Our sales were up to 17%, so the magnitude of the EBITDA increase versus sales provides just how cost-efficient we became.

在此頁面上，我們用圖表以數字方式證明了我之前提出的觀點。我們全面超額完成了2025年的目標。當我們將我們的結果與一年前的結果進行比較時，這些數字恰恰展示了 Sigma 如何呈指數級增長。我們今年第一季的EBITDA比去年同期成長了3.5倍，達到了223%。我們的銷售額成長了 17%，因此 EBITDA 相對於銷售額的成長幅度就顯示了我們的成本效益有多高。

Comparing results on a quarter over quarter, we demonstrate this continuous positive trajectory of our profitability. Our EBITDA has increased 3%, while our sales decreased, so this is resilience quantified. Here, we demonstrate the operational performance slightly beating the quarterly production guidance for 2025. And again, it demonstrates that after the structural upgrades, our Greentech plant achieved continuous cadence at an increased level of performance. This page also highlights a crucial point I made earlier.

透過季度結果的比較，我們發現我們的獲利能力持續呈現正面的軌跡。我們的 EBITDA 成長了 3%，而銷售額卻下降了，所以這是量化的彈性。這裡我們展示了略高於 2025 年季度生產指引的營運表現。這再次表明，經過結構升級，我們的綠色科技工廠在性能水準的提高上實現了持續的節奏。此頁也強調了我之前提出的一個重要觀點。

It quantifies indirectly the amount of prepayment Sigma can receive from clients by signing off-take agreements to supply lithium. This is an untapped funding source and is readily available in a current market environment. Because lithium demand is robust, so we have clients seeking to secure certainty of supply, but only from producers with low all-in costs, which can withstand the low point of the lithium price cycle. Our production is 100% uncommitted, so we could comfortably sign up to three off-take agreements at current market prices and still have 30,000 tonnes of production remaining to just validate the market pricing of these off-takes, which is a very sound financing strategy. Here, we demonstrate our low costs across the board at Plant Gate, at CIF, and our all-in sustaining costs.

它間接量化了 Sigma 透過簽署鋰供應承購協議可以從客戶收到的預付款金額。這是一個尚未開發的資金來源，在當前的市場環境下很容易獲得。由於鋰需求強勁，我們的客戶尋求確保供應的確定性，但只從總成本較低的生產商那裡購買，這些生產商可以承受鋰價格週期的低點。我們的產量 100% 未承諾，因此我們可以按照當前市場價格輕鬆簽署最多三份承購協議，並且仍然有 30,000 噸的產量可以驗證這些承購的市場定價，這是一種非常合理的融資策略。這裡，我們展示了我們在工廠門口、CIF 和所有維持成本方面的全面低成本。

This culminates with a 20% annual decrease of our all-in sustaining costs across the last year. These low costs underscore the resilience of our business. A year ago, we already were one of the lowest cost producers globally of lithium oxide concentrate. And over the last year, we continue to improve and further lower our costs across the board and reach this 20% decrease from last year first quarter. On this page, we have the lithium cost curve.

最終，我們去年的所有維持成本都下降了 20%。這些低成本凸顯了我們業務的彈性。一年前，我們已經是全球成本最低的氧化鋰精礦生產商之一。在過去的一年裡，我們繼續全面改進並進一步降低成本，與去年第一季相比下降了 20%。在此頁面上，我們有鋰成本曲線。

So here, we demonstrate our leading position in the global lithium industry. Sigma actually delivered what we call the holy trinity of lithium production, large scale, low costs, traceable, and ethically produced lithium materials. This page is from Benchmark Minerals. It's sourced from Benchmark, and it shows the global cost curve of producers of lithium oxide concentrate from mining. Here, we demonstrate our leading position in the global lithium industry.

所以在這裡，我們展示了我們在全球鋰行業的領先地位。Sigma 實際上實現了我們所說的鋰生產的三位一體，即大規模、低成本、可追溯和道德生產的鋰材料。此頁面來自 Benchmark Minerals。這些數據來自 Benchmark，展示了全球採礦氧化鋰精礦生產商的成本曲線。在這裡，我們展示了我們在全球鋰行業的領先地位。

Sigma delivered the holy trinity of lithium production. We deliver at large scale, we deliver low costs, and we deliver ethically and traceable lithium materials. It underscores our cost efficiency because we are lower cost than the African miners shown in pink just to our right on the page. The only company in our industry that has lower costs than Sigma is Greenbushes' Talison, but they have 5 times our scale. So it's achievable to get there.

Sigma 交付了鋰生產的三位一體。我們大規模交付，低成本交付，並且交付符合道德規範且可追溯的鋰材料。它強調了我們的成本效率，因為我們的成本比頁面右側粉紅色顯示的非洲礦工要低。我們行業中唯一一家成本低於 Sigma 的公司是 Greenbushes 的 Talison，但他們的規模是我們的 5 倍。所以這是可以實現的。

Here, the breakdown of our all-in sustaining costs, which this quarter reached $622 per tonne. It shows how we outperformed the 2025 targets by 6%. Thus, our operational efficiency this quarter enabled us to lower the maintenance CapEx of our plant. Our SG&A will reach targets irrespectively as we increase production volumes. We have also have been actively decreasing financing expenses by using part of our cash generation to repay expensive short-term financing debt, as we just discussed earlier.

這是我們全部維持成本的明細，本季達到每噸 622 美元。它表明我們已經超額完成了 2025 年的目標 6%。因此，本季的營運效率使我們能夠降低工廠的維護資本支出。無論產量如何增加，我們的銷售、一般及行政費用都將達到目標。正如我們之前所討論的，我們也一直在積極降低融資費用，並利用部分現金來償還昂貴的短期融資債務。

We're very proud of this page because it shows how we achieved over 700 consecutive days without accidents with lost time. It means a lot to us, because we're sending our employees safely back home to their families every day. Our team is very proud of this, because it demonstrates how we rose to the challenge of the battery materials industry of delivering at the same time low-cost products without putting our people at risk and using shortcuts on health and safety. We have one of the best safety records amongst all ICMM companies in the global metals and mining industry. We have reached this level of safety excellence as a result of robust processes, a culture of ownership amongst our team, because they think about protecting themselves but also protecting their colleagues all the time.

我們對這個頁面感到非常自豪，因為它展示了我們如何連續 700 多天沒有發生事故和損失時間。這對我們來說意義重大，因為我們每天都會把員工安全地送回家與家人團聚。我們的團隊對此感到非常自豪，因為這顯示我們如何應對電池材料產業的挑戰，同時提供低成本產品，而不會讓我們的員工面臨風險，也不會在健康和安全方面走捷徑。我們是全球金屬和採礦業所有 ICMM 公司中擁有最佳安全記錄的公司之一。由於強大的流程和團隊的主人翁精神，我們達到了這種卓越的安全水平，因為他們時刻考慮保護自己，同時也保護同事。

Here, we talk about our Greentech production plant. We mastered the dense media technology for producing lithium oxide. We have been recurrently achieving unprecedented recovery levels for this technology. It's over 70% of plant level and the global recoveries have been consistently well into the 60%. This recovery achieved in our Greentech plant is a result from the constant implementation of innovation and improvements and it culminated with us implementing in the fourth quarter, the recycling circuit for the lithium tailings, where we reprocess the lithium oxide in the tailings and convert it into high-grade product so it increases the mass of our product.

這裡我們來談談我們的 Greentech 生產工廠。掌握了生產氧化鋰的緻密介質技術。我們已多次實現該技術前所未有的恢復水準。其工廠回收率超過 70%，全球回收率也維持在 60% 左右。我們的綠色科技工廠實現的復甦是不斷實施創新和改進的結果，最終我們在第四季度實施了鋰尾礦的回收循環，我們對尾礦中的氧化鋰進行再加工，並將其轉化為高品位產品，從而增加了我們產品的品質。

So, we achieve higher production volumes through recycling the dry stack tailings. So, now I'm going to hand over to my colleague and partner, Irina Axenova. She's the Vice President of Investor Relations at Sigma, and she's going to go through our financial performance this quarter in detail.

因此，我們透過回收乾堆尾礦實現了更高的產量。現在，我要把時間交給我的同事兼搭檔 Irina Axenova。她是 Sigma 的投資者關係副總裁，她將詳細介紹我們本季的財務表現。

Thank you, Ana. Let's now take a look at our financial performance for the first quarter of 2025. We reported $48 million in revenue, representing a 28% increase year over year driven by high sales volumes and disciplined execution across the operation. Cost of sales came in at $34 million reflecting a 90% increase year over year driven by high production volumes partially offset by low operating costs. As a result, we delivered a solid cash gross margin of 35%, highlighting both the continued efficiency of our operations and our strong low-cost position.

謝謝你，安娜。現在讓我們來看看我們2025年第一季的財務表現。我們報告的收入為 4800 萬美元，年增 28%，這得益於高銷售量和整個營運的嚴格執行。銷售成本為 3,400 萬美元，年增 90%，這主要是由於產量高，但營運成本低部分抵消了這一增長。因此，我們實現了 35% 的穩健現金毛利率，突顯了我們持續高效的營運和強大的低成本地位。

EBITDA for the quarter was $10 million and when adjusted for non-cash stock-based compensation, adjusted EBITDA reached $11 million, a substantial increase compared to the same period last year. This translated into strong EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins of 21% and 24% respectively underscoring our scalable and profitable business model. We ended the quarter with a cash position of $31 million, which I will cover in more detail shortly. Finally, we reported our first net income of nearly $5 million or $0.4 per share. These results reflect our ongoing progress in increasing production, maintaining cost discipline and achieving strong financial performance.

本季的 EBITDA 為 1,000 萬美元，經非現金股票薪酬調整後，調整後的 EBITDA 達到 1,100 萬美元，與去年同期相比大幅成長。這轉化為強勁的 EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率，分別為 21% 和 24%，凸顯了我們可擴展且有利可圖的商業模式。本季末我們的現金狀況為 3,100 萬美元，我將很快詳細介紹。最後，我們報告了第一筆淨收入，接近 500 萬美元，即每股 0.4 美元。這些結果反映了我們在提高產量、維持成本控制和實現強勁財務表現方面取得的持續進展。

The next slide shows how a strong execution translated into solid margins this quarter. With $48 million in net revenue and cost of sales of $34 million, Sigma generated $17 million in cash gross profit resulting in a cash gross margin of 35%. Reported EBITDA for the first quarter was $10 million and when adjusted for non-cash stock-based compensation, adjusted EBITDA surpassed $11 million, reflecting a strong adjusted EBITDA margin of 24%. During the quarter, we also continued our work on reducing short-term debt by reducing trade finance balance by 15% from $60 million to just over $50 million, while our interest per tonne reduced further to $17. Looking ahead, we expect further reduction in interest cost per tonne as we ramp up production.

下一張投影片展示了強勁的執行力如何轉化為本季的穩定利潤。Sigma 的淨收入為 4,800 萬美元，銷售成本為 3,400 萬美元，產生了 1,700 萬美元的現金毛利，現金毛利率為 35%。第一季報告的 EBITDA 為 1,000 萬美元，經非現金股票薪酬調整後，調整後的 EBITDA 超過 1,100 萬美元，反映出 24% 的強勁調整後 EBITDA 利潤率。本季度，我們也繼續致力於減少短期債務，將貿易融資餘額減少 15%，從 6,000 萬美元減少到略高於 5,000 萬美元，同時每噸利息進一步降低至 17 美元。展望未來，隨著產量的提高，我們預期每噸利息成本將進一步降低。

Total financial cost for the first quarter was $75 per tonne and we anticipate this will decrease to around $70 per tonne for the full year. This reflects our ongoing efforts to replace short-term trade finance facilities with subsidies BNDES financing and to leverage other liability management tools available to us as Ana mentioned earlier. One of our key advantages is the flexibility provided by our uncommitted production volumes. As Ana talked about earlier, we haven't signed any off-take agreements to date. So 100% of our annual production or 270,000 tonnes is fully available.

第一季的總財務成本為每噸 75 美元，我們預計全年這筆成本將降至每噸約 70 美元。這反映了我們正在努力以補貼 BNDES 融資取代短期貿易融資工具，並利用我們可用的其他負債管理工具，正如 Ana 之前提到的。我們的主要優勢之一是不受約束的生產量所提供的靈活性。正如 Ana 之前提到的，迄今為止我們還沒有簽署任何承購協議。因此，我們的年產量 100% 或 270,000 噸是完全可用的。

This gives us an ability to sign off-take agreements with prepayment structures, if and when it makes strategic sense, that flexibility provides a powerful financing tool, allowing us to extend our debt maturity profile by deciding how much of our production to allocate to these agreements. Finally, we put together a slide to highlight our strong cash flow performance during the quarter and our disciplined transparent approach to operational cash generation. We started the quarter with $46 million in cash-on-hand, and during the quarter we received over $32 million in cash payments from customers. An increase in trade receivables of $15 million related to sales made before the quarter end, but settled after the accounting cutoff. Total cash outflows for the period were $30 million, including $23 million in operational costs that is excluding SG&A and royalties.

這使我們能夠簽署具有預付款結構的承購協議，如果具有戰略意義，這種靈活性提供了強大的融資工具，使我們能夠透過決定將多少產量分配給這些協議來延長我們的債務期限。最後，我們製作了一張幻燈片來強調我們本季強勁的現金流表現以及我們對營運現金產生的嚴謹透明的方法。本季初我們持有 4,600 萬美元現金，本季我們從客戶收到超過 3,200 萬美元的現金支付。貿易應收款增加了 1500 萬美元，與季度末之前的銷售有關，但在會計截止後結算。本期間的總現金流為 3,000 萬美元，其中包括 2,300 萬美元的營運成本（不包括銷售、一般及行政費用和特許權使用費）。

So summarizing the performance, on a pro forma basis, including an increase in trade receivables operational cash flow reached $24 million. After accounting for SG&A and other expenses pro forma cash from operations was $17 million. If we look at the financial expenses the amount of $12 million also includes that $10 million amount of repaid debt. All in all, this highlights our strong ability to generate steady operational cash flow, while staying disciplined in how we manage and allocate capital. And with that, I'll hand it over to Ana to provide operational updates.

因此，總結業績，以備考基礎計算，包括貿易應收款的增加，經營現金流達到了 2,400 萬美元。扣除銷售、一般及行政費用及其他費用後，營運活動現金流預計為 1,700 萬美元。如果我們看一下財務費用，1200 萬美元的金額還包括 1000 萬美元的償還債務。總而言之，這凸顯了我們在管理和分配資本方面保持紀律的同時，產生穩定營運現金流的強大能力。接下來，我將把工作交給 Ana 來提供營運更新。

On this section, I'm going to give you an update on our expansion plans. On this slide, we demonstrate that we continue to make progress in our construction work for our second industrial processing plant. We have a detailed table showing the main work streams of the construction. We have completed approximately 32% of the construction by this first quarter. This chart illustrates the pace of our progress.

在本節中，我將向您介紹我們的擴張計劃的最新情況。在這張幻燈片上，我們展示了我們第二家工業加工廠建設工作繼續取得進展。我們有一個詳細的表格，顯示了施工的主要工作流程。截至第一季度，我們已經完成了約 32% 的建設。這張圖表顯示了我們進步的速度。

Earthworks completed. The water drainage pipelines completed. I mean, this infrastructure enables our closed water circuit which is key. It allows Sigma to fully reuse the water that we pipe from the Jequitinhonha River, which is sewage grade. So this is our closed water circuit.

土方工程已完工。排水管道已完工。我的意思是，這個基礎設施使我們的閉水循環成為可能，這是關鍵。它使 Sigma 能夠充分重複使用從熱基蒂尼奧尼亞河輸送的污水級水。這就是我們的閉式水迴路。

Again, what we delivered as far as construction progress is this longer, but less expensive portion of building. But it's a key preparatory work for the assembly and the installation of the equipment of the industrial plant. We have been thoroughly managing the pace of our construction in order to preserve cash flow. Therefore, we not have yet submitted the orders for the long lead items of the plant, but we will. This next page shows that this construction is fully funded by a signed subsidized loan agreement with BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank.

再次，就施工進度而言，我們所交付的是這部分時間較長但成本較低的建築。但它是工業廠房設備組裝和安裝的一項關鍵的準備工作。我們一直在嚴格控制施工進度，以保持現金流。因此，我們尚未提交該工廠長週期產品的訂單，但我們會提交。下一頁顯示，該建設項目的全部資金均來自與巴西開發銀行 (BNDES) 簽署的補貼貸款協議。

As I mentioned earlier, it has a very benign 16-year duration in an unmatched low interest rate fixing reais at approximately 2.5% a year. We have already submitted to the NDS our first reimbursement package, which has over 500 invoices. So the receipt of our first disbursement tranche is still pending, and that will drive the timing for the placement of the orders for the equipment that I mentioned earlier, what we call long lead items. This next page shows how it makes sense to double our production capacity. It's going to cost just USD100 million.

正如我之前提到的，該債券在 16 年內具有非常良性的長期利率，處於無與倫比的低利率水平，年利率約為 2.5%。我們已經向 NDS 提交了第一份報銷文件，其中包含 500 多張發票。因此，我們的第一批付款仍未收到，這將決定我之前提到的設備訂單的時間，我們稱之為長週期項目。下一頁展示如何將我們的生產能力翻倍。其成本僅1億美元。

More importantly, the devaluation of the Brazilian real works to our favor because over 80% of our equipment is sourced locally. So building the second production plant is expected to be achieved with very low CapEx. It's one of the lowest in the industry. It's 0.40. This is lower than even the producers in Africa.

更重要的是，巴西雷亞爾貶值對我們有利，因為我們 80% 以上的設備都是本地採購的。因此，預計第二家生產工廠的建設將以非常低的資本支出實現。這是業內最低的水平之一。是0.40。這甚至比非洲的生產商還要低。

What does it mean? It means that for every incremental tonne of lithium oxide, we're going to have a CapEx of just $400 associated with it. So given our all-in sustaining costs, the payback period on the plant is very, very short, even at current lithium prices. So more importantly, when we double production capacity, we become even more resilient to the lithium price cycles because we further lower our all-in sustaining costs by 20% from $660, which is the target guidance down to $530, which is the target guidance for 2026. It's interesting, because there's an American author called Jim Collins that we greatly admire, who is the patron of a strategic thesis called building a company to last.

這是什麼意思？這意味著每增加一噸氧化鋰，我們的資本支出僅為 400 美元。因此，考慮到我們的全部維持成本，即使以目前的鋰價計算，該工廠的投資回收期也非常非常短。因此，更重要的是，當我們將生產能力翻倍時，我們對鋰價格週期的適應能力就會更強，因為我們將總維持成本進一步降低 20%，從 660 美元（目標指導價）降至 530 美元（2026 年的目標指導價）。這很有趣，因為我們非常敬佩一位名叫吉姆‧柯林斯的美國作家，他是「打造基業長青的公司」這個策略論點的倡導者。

Our strategic direction towards increasing our resilience demonstrates just that. The Sigma's leading competitive position will continue to strengthen as we expand. Therefore, we're building this company to last, withstanding lithium cycles well into the future. So here, I'm going to close by thanking all of our shareholders for the trust and trusting me with the honor to lead Sigma into building it to last.

我們提高復原力的策略方向就證明了這一點。隨著我們的擴張，Sigma 的領先競爭地位將繼續加強。因此，我們要把這家公司打造成長久之計，在未來很長一段時間都能承受鋰循環的衝擊。最後，我要感謝所有股東的信任，並給予我帶領 Sigma 長久發展的榮譽。

(Operator Instructions).

（操作員指令）。

This is Rock Hoffman from Bank of America. My first question is, was there a conscious decision to produce 5.0% spodumene concentrate this quarter? And is there less desire in the market right now for even 5.2%? What's kind of a good assumption going forward?

這是美國銀行的洛克霍夫曼。我的第一個問題是，本季是否有意識地決定生產 5.0% 的鋰輝石精礦？那麼現在市場對 5.2% 的利率的期望是否降低了呢？未來有什麼好的假設嗎？

Well, we basically -- it was conscious. We have very high grades. So, as we put in the reprocessing circuit into full capacity, we have the ability, which is actually a luxury to adjust down our grades. Why is that? Because the current pricing formula for lithium concentrate, it decreases the base price linearly.

嗯，我們基本上——這是有意識的。我們的成績非常高。因此，當我們將再處理迴路投入滿載運轉時，我們就有能力（實際上是一種奢侈）來降低我們的等級。這是為什麼？因為目前的鋰精礦定價公式是線性降低基準價格的。

But while we add the reprocessed material through the recycling, we gain mass exponentially. So it makes sense to actually get -- to join both circuits in the Greentech plant to add mass exponentially, which significantly lowers our costs given that we are essentially processing our existing tailings. So it's a fantastic ability technologically that we gain. Now to your question, the market, unfortunately, doesn't reward higher-grade material properly with the appropriate premium as it does in other established industries such as iron ore, copper. Therefore, we are essentially adjusting it to the best product available in the spot market, which is essentially the Australian average what's on offer.

但是，當我們透過回收添加再加工材料時，我們的品質就會呈指數級增長。因此，將 Greentech 工廠中的兩個迴路連接起來以成倍地增加品質實際上是有意義的，考慮到我們基本上是在處理現有的尾礦，這可以大大降低我們的成本。所以從技術上來說，我們獲得了一種奇妙的能力。現在回答您的問題，不幸的是，市場並沒有像鐵礦石、銅等其他成熟行業那樣，以適當的溢價獎勵高品位材料。因此，我們基本上是將其調整為現貨市場上最好的產品，這基本上是澳洲的平均報價。

So yes, it was a deliberate decision, and we will continue to do it.

所以是的，這是一個深思熟慮的決定，我們會繼續這樣做。

Understood. And just as a follow-up, I understand that much of the cost optimization that can still be achieved from where we are now is largely in industrial operations. Could you kind of describe that a bit more as well as sizing and timing for how low these costs can feasibly go?

明白了。作為後續行動，我了解到，從目前的情況來看，我們仍然可以實現大部分成本優化，主要是在工業運營方面。您能否更詳細地描述這一點，以及這些成本可以降低到何種程度的規模和時間？

Well, not really. We prefer not to guide the gains with scale by furthering our operating costs, either mine or plant, because we are already amongst the lowest in the industry. So, when one looks at the guidance we put out at year-end at the previous quarter, what we showed is that with scale, we would gain the obvious economies of scale, which were having -- we would decrease by 50%, by half our SG&A, because you wouldn't need to honest two arenas to run a double plant. And we would lower by half our interest bill, because we put in a pro forma number that would comprise the financing to build the second plant. So when we highlight that our all-in sustaining cost for two plants is expected to be $530 versus the expected year-end $660 of all-in sustaining costs, this gain is solely by lowering the interest cost by scale and lowering SG&A by scale.

嗯，並非如此。我們不願意透過增加礦場或工廠的營運成本來引導規模收益，因為我們已經是業界最低的了。因此，當人們看到我們在上一季年底發布的指導意見時，就會發現，隨著規模的擴大，我們將獲得明顯的規模經濟，這將使我們的銷售、一般和行政費用減少 50%，即減少一半，因為我們不需要在兩個競技場經營雙工廠。而且我們的利息支出將減少一半，因為我們輸入了一個包含建造第二家工廠的融資的形式數字。因此，當我們強調兩家工廠的全部維持成本預計為 530 美元，而預計年底全部維持成本為 660 美元時，這一收益完全是透過按規模降低利息成本和按規模降低銷售、一般和行政費用而實現的。

And these are the obvious gains. And we left it at that. We felt that this would be an obvious manner to benefit from scale that would be mathematically unquestioned.

這些都是顯而易見的收穫。我們就此打住。我們認為，這是一種顯而易見的從規模中獲益的方式，從數學上來說是毋庸置疑的。

Shannon Gill, Cormark Securities.

Shannon Gill，Cormark 證券。

Sorry, if this is a repeat, as I had to miss the beginning of the call. But when are you guys planning to do your first draw on your BNDES loan? And if it's delayed, is there some sort of maybe plan to secure offtake or refinance some of that short-term debt? Can you let us know what your financial plan is going forward?

抱歉，如果這是重複，因為我錯過了通話的開始。但是你們什麼時候計劃第一次提取 BNDES 貸款呢？如果推遲，是否有某種計劃來確保承購或再融資部分短期債務？您能告訴我們您未來的財務計畫嗎？

Absolutely. Let me unpack your question. First, it's -- I'll go backwards. The first tranche, the reimbursements have been submitted. So it's -- the ball is on their account.

絕對地。讓我來解答一下你的問題。首先，我要倒敘一下。第一批款項已提交償還。所以，責任在他們身上。

That's first. And the amount is not that high, given that if you look at our CapEx deployed on building this portion of Plant 2, I mean, we did the cheapest portion of the construction for now, which is earthworks and civils, right? Equipment hasn't been ordered. So I'll park that. Then we go back to the short-term debt.

這是第一點。而且這個金額也不是那麼高，如果你看看我們在建造 2 號工廠這部分工程上投入的資本支出，我的意思是，我們目前完成了最便宜的建設部分，即土方工程和土木工程，對嗎？尚未訂購設備。所以我會把它停好。然後我們回到短期債務。

The repayment of short-term debt makes sense with cash generation. And the decision is made on a quarterly basis, depending on how much extra cash we have and depending on lithium market prices, which we don't control. So we manage our financing short-term liquidity based on how much extra cash we got versus the lithium market prices, such as what we just did in the first quarter. Now thirdly, your question, prepayments. Yes, that's what I tried to signal and so did, Irina, by demonstrating how we still have a significant source of untapped financing, because we've got this far as a company without committing a single tonne of lithium.

償還短期債務對於現金產生是合理的。這個決定是按季度做出的，取決於我們有多少額外現金以及鋰市場價格，而我們無法控制這些價格。因此，我們根據獲得的額外現金與鋰市場價格的關係來管理我們的融資短期流動性，就像我們在第一季所做的那樣。第三，您的問題，預付款。是的，這就是我和伊琳娜試圖表達的意思，透過展示我們仍然擁有大量未開發的融資來源，因為我們公司已經走到了今天這一步，而沒有投入一噸鋰。

So all of our available units are not tied to offtake agreements, which means we could have the flexibility. We have the flexibility to commit these units in off-take agreements. And that's a very good question, because I'd like to make another point just to clarify for those in the audience not familiar with these agreements. They do not mean fixed prices. They do not mean that I am hedging or locking in the current very low prices into three- to four-year future.

因此，我們所有可用的單位都不與承購協議掛鉤，這意味著我們可以擁有靈活性。我們可以靈活地將這些單位承諾納入承購協議。這是一個非常好的問題，因為我想再提一點，只是為了向那些不熟悉這些協議的聽眾澄清。它們並不意味著固定價格。它們並不意味著我要對沖或鎖定未來三到四年的當前極低價格。

No. What it means is I am delivering secure tonnage to clients that at the moment are very concerned with the sourcing of lithium materials being ethical, traceable or not. From all origins, clients from all over the world, from Japan, China, Korea, North America, all clients are very concerned about sourcing, not just sourcing, ethically produced sourcing, moreover, and that's how we reach the trinity. They also look at potential recipients of offtakes as companies that have the ability to do so at low cost because it means that they will prepay, they will advance me a very large sum of money, and they need to make sure that we, a company doesn't shut down, or has the ability to achieve costs that are low enough to navigate the cycle. So clients cannot afford to hand out prepayments to companies that are high-cost producers, because they risk not getting the material in the current lithium market cycles.

不。這意味著我正在向客戶提供安全噸位，而目前他們非常關心鋰材料的採購是否合乎道德、是否可追溯。來自各個產地的客戶遍布世界各地，有日本、中國、韓國、北美等，所有客戶都非常關心採購，不僅是採購，而且是符合道德標準的採購，這就是我們實現三位一體的方式。他們也將潛在的承購對象視為能夠以低成本進行承購的公司，因為這意味著他們將預付款，他們將預付給我一大筆錢，並且他們需要確保我們公司不會倒閉，或者有能力實現足夠低的成本以度過週期。因此，客戶無法承擔向高成本生產商支付預付款的風險，因為他們面臨在當前鋰市場週期中無法獲得原材料的風險。

So it is a perfect environment actually to negotiate and sign offtakes because we're low-cost producers. We deliver ethical and traceable materials. We clearly can withstand the cycle. And therefore, we are eligible to receive these prepayments which are given to us by the clients comfortably. Typically, these agreements are signed at market prices, sometimes with a floor, sometimes with a very high cap.

因此，由於我們是低成本生產商，這實際上是一個完美的談判和簽署承購協議的環境。我們提供符合道德規範且可追溯的資料。我們顯然能夠承受這個循環。因此，我們有資格輕鬆地收到客戶支付給我們的這些預付款。通常，這些協議都是按市場價格簽署的，有時設有底價，有時設有很高的上限。

So floors and caps don't detract from value. And it's a win-win. Sometimes there's none of that. Sometimes it's at market prices. But what the client wants is secure the volumes, the tonnage into the future.

因此，底線和上限不會降低價值。這是一個雙贏的局面。有時這些都不存在。有時是按照市場價格。但客戶想要的是確保未來的產量和噸位。

Because everyone clearly knows that '26, '27, '28, '29 will be more balanced markets for demand and supply of lithium. And I think at this point, there's no question that demand is extremely robust.

因為大家都清楚知道，26、27、28、29 年鋰的供需市場將會更加平衡。我認為目前毫無疑問需求極為強勁。

Katie Lachapelle, Canaccord Genuity.

凱蒂·拉查貝爾，Canaccord Genuity。

I just want to build on Shannon Gill's question with respect to the potential prepayment or offtake. Is there a certain percentage of your production for either Phase 1 or Phase 2 that you're targeting to cover with off-takes or prepayments? And then is there a particular duration as well?

我只是想根據 Shannon Gill 的問題來回答有關潛在預付款或承購的問題。您是否計劃透過承購或預付款來支付第一階段或第二階段的一定比例的產量？那麼是否也有特定的持續時間呢？

Yes, there is. Again, we have flexibility. I was given flexibility by the Board to sign the offtakes that we highlighted in the presentation. And how is the decision going to be made? Conditions.

是的，有。再次，我們具有靈活性。董事會給我彈性，讓我可以簽署我們在演示中強調的承購協議。那麼該如何做出決定呢？狀況。

If we're offered very good conditions, we're going for it. And again, and you know that quite well, but it's a great question, because I want to further delve into this. These offtakes mean what? They mean that we get a prepayment, not for all of the amount of the future sales, but for a certain percentage. And then typically, there's a grace period to repay this, because it's calculated as a PMT as almost like fixed mortgage, you gain a grace period and you gain a certain duration.

如果有人給我們非常好的條件，我們就會接受。再說一次，你很清楚這一點，但這是一個很好的問題，因為我想進一步深入探討這個問題。這些減量意味著什麼？這意味著我們會獲得預付款，不是未來銷售總額的全部，而是一定比例的預付款。然後通常，有一個寬限期來償還這筆款項，因為它被計算為 PMT，幾乎像固定抵押貸款一樣，您會獲得寬限期並獲得一定的期限。

And these are elements that are negotiated individually with each agreement. So, we gain flexibility here to use all of our production if it makes sense. Why we are saying this? Because the interest rates are typically lower in these offtakes than; one, in my current trade finance, even the longer duration one, that's a year; two, then in my current long-term debt, which is due 1.5 years from now. So the fact that we highlighted the ability to do prepayments demonstrates how we can do liability management using this uncommitted production.

這些內容是每個協議單獨協商確定的。因此，如果合理的話，我們可以靈活地使用我們所有的產品。我們為什麼這麼說？因為這些承購的利率通常低於：第一，在我目前的貿易融資中，即使是期限較長的，也是一年；第二，在我目前的長期債務中，到期日為 1.5 年。因此，我們強調預付款能力這一事實表明了我們如何利用這種未承諾的生產來進行負債管理。

And to your point, typical duration. There isn't a typical duration, but there is a minimum duration. And the minimum duration clients go for is three years. For example, we get a certain number of inbounds, very focused on '26, '27, '28 starting now, which means that clearly, there is concern from clients on whether the volumes being offered during those years will be at low cost, will be ethically produced or not because no one can guess future lithium prices. What we know is that demand is strong.

就您的觀點而言，這是典型的持續時間。沒有典型的持續時間，但有一個最短持續時間。客戶選擇的最短期限為三年。例如，我們獲得了一定數量的入庫訂單，從現在開始主要集中在 26、27、28 年，這意味著，客戶顯然擔心這些年提供的鋰產量是否成本低廉、是否符合道德規範，因為沒有人能夠猜測未來的鋰價格。我們知道的是需求強勁。

So again, clients get concerned about where can I secure these volumes for years where demand is going to be very robust from low-cost producers, ethically sourced producers. And this is an interesting turn of events for the market and for Sigma. And I love this question, and I want to thank everyone who asked me, because there's another point to add to this, which is why haven't we done that earlier? Well, because we didn't need to. Why not?

因此，客戶再次擔心，在低成本生產商和符合道德標準的生產商對原材料需求非常旺盛的情況下，我可以在哪裡確保這些原材料的長期供應。對於市場和 Sigma 來說，這是一個有趣的轉變。我很喜歡這個問題，我想感謝所有問我的人，因為還有一點需要補充，那就是為什麼我們沒有早點這樣做？嗯，因為我們不需要。為什麼不呢？

Because we stuck to budget and to schedule. Typically, companies tap into this source of financing as part of the financing package to build their plants. We built first plant without using any of it. And we stuck and we were able to build it within budget. So we never needed to use it.

因為我們堅持預算和時間表。通常，公司利用這項融資來源作為建造工廠的融資方案的一部分。我們建造了第一家工廠，但並未使用任何材料。我們堅持了下來，並能夠在預算之內完成建造。所以我們從來不需要使用它。

And then as everyone knows, we entered into a strategic review. So we wouldn't commit offtakes, because there was a strategic review. So when that happens, you hit pause on everything. And we did think about it at the time, because it would have been the logic next step. So now here we are in a very fortunate position, because we're in 2025, demand is robust, prices are very low.

然後，正如大家所知，我們進入了策略評估階段。因此我們不會承諾承購，因為有一個策略評估。所以當這種情況發生時，你會暫停一切。我們當時確實考慮過這個問題，因為這是合乎邏輯的下一步。所以現在我們處於非常幸運的位置，因為我們已經到了 2025 年，需求強勁，價格非常低。

We are the resilient all-in sustaining cost producer. We've proved that we can withstand price cycles. And the outlook for demand is going to be even more robust. There's concern about sourcing in terms of ethical traceable sourcing or not because of the levels of low pricing coming from rock. So we are almost like in a perfect position here.

我們是一家具有韌性、全力維持成本的生產商。我們已經證明我們能夠承受價格週期。需求前景將更加強勁。由於岩石的價格低廉，人們對其是否符合道德可追溯性來源感到擔憂。因此，我們現在幾乎處於完美的位置。

So, this is the beauty of the moment. It's a convergence of factors. They are quite beneficial to us at this very moment.

所以，這就是此刻的美麗。這是多種因素共同作用的結果。它們目前對我們非常有益。

Ladies and gentlemen, since there are no further questions, I'm returning the floor to Mrs. Ana Cabral for her final remarks. Please, Mrs. Ana, you may proceed.

女士們、先生們，由於沒有其他問題，我將發言權交還給安娜·卡布拉爾女士，請她作最後的發言。安娜女士，請您繼續。

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us on this call. And once again, we want to highlight that we're building Sigma to last. I mean, we take our strategic steps very carefully. We manage our cash very carefully. We are obsessed with cost cutting.

好吧，謝謝大家參加這次電話會議。我們要再次強調，我們正在打造持久的 Sigma。我的意思是，我們非常謹慎地採取策略步驟。我們非常謹慎地管理現金。我們熱衷於削減成本。

I want to leave you with another thought. Cost cutting is like clipping your nails is a culture of efficiency that we have implemented at Sigma. There's an ownership culture here where over 50% of the equity of the company is in the hands of people who actually work here. So we are partner employees, just like all of you shareholders. So we care about returns.

我想留給你另一個想法。削減成本就像修剪指甲一樣，是我們在 Sigma 實施的效率文化。這裡有一種所有權文化，公司 50% 以上的股權掌握在實際在這裡工作的人手中。因此，我們和各位股東一樣，都是合夥人員工。所以我們關心回報。

We care about everything you all care for. So, again, having this job even in a low market -- in a low point in the price cycle is actually an honor, because it's a real honor to lead a very super committed team like what we have at Sigma. And so with that, I want to close, once again, thanking you for giving me the honor to lead Sigma into building it to last.

我們關心你們所關心的一切。所以，即使在市場低迷、價格週期低谷的時候，能擔任這份工作也是一種榮幸，因為能夠領導像 Sigma 這樣非常敬業的團隊，真的是一種榮幸。最後，我想再次感謝你們給予我領導 Sigma 並使其長久發展的榮譽。

Thus, we conclude the first quarter of 2025 conference call of Sigma Lithium. For further information and details of the company, please visit the company's website at ir.sigmalithiumresources.com. You can disconnect from now on. Thank you once again, and have a wonderful day.

至此，我們結束了 Sigma Lithium 2025 年第一季的電話會議。如欲了解更多公司資訊和詳情，請瀏覽公司網站ir.sigmalithiumresources.com。您現在即可斷開連線。再次感謝您，祝您有美好的一天。