智利化工礦業 (SQM) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the SQM second quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 SQM 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，本次會議正在錄音。

Now it's my pleasure to turn the call over to the Investor Relation Officer, Isabel Bendeck. Please proceed.

現在我很高興將電話轉給投資者關係官伊莎貝爾·本德克 (Isabel Bendeck)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining SQM earning conference call for the second quarter of 2025. This call is being recorded and webcast live. Our earnings press release and results presentations have been uploaded to our website where you can also find a link to the webcast.

謝謝您，接線生。大家好，感謝您參加 SQM 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。本次通話正在錄音並進行網路直播。我們的收益新聞稿和業績介紹已上傳到我們的網站，您也可以在那裡找到網路廣播的連結。

Today's participants include Mr. Ricardo Ramos, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Gerardo Illanes, CFO; Mr. Carlos Diaz, CEO of Lithium Chile Division; Mr. Pablo Altimiras, CEO of the Iodine and Plant Nutrition Division; Mr. Mark Fones, CEO of the International Lithium Division. Also joining us today are members of our commercial and business intelligence teams: Mr. Felipe Smith, Commercial Vice President of the Lithium Chile Division; Mr. Pablo Hernandez, Vice President of Strategy and Development of Lithium Chile Division; Mr. Juan Pablo Bellolio, Commercial Vice President of Plant Nutrition and Specialty Products; and Mr. [Max Bial], Head of Studies of the International Lithium Division.

今天的與會者包括執行長 Ricardo Ramos 先生、財務長 Gerardo Illanes 先生、智利鋰業分部執行長 Carlos Diaz 先生、碘和植物營養分部執行長 Pablo Altimiras 先生和國際鋰業分部執行長 Mark Fones 先生。今天與我們一起出席的還有我們的商業和商業情報團隊成員：智利鋰業分部商業副總裁 Felipe Smith 先生；智利鋰業分部戰略與發展副總裁 Pablo Hernandez 先生；植物營養與特種產品商業副總裁 Juan Pablo Bellolio 先生；以及國際鋰業分部研究主管 [Max Bial] 先生。

Before we begin, please note that statements made during this call regarding our business outlook, future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, and other financial items along with the expected cost synergies and product or service lines growth are considered forward-looking statements under the US Federal securities law.

在我們開始之前，請注意，本次電話會議中關於我們的業務前景、未來經濟表現、預期盈利能力、收入、支出和其他財務項目以及預期的成本協同效應和產品或服務線增長的陳述均根據美國聯邦證券法被視為前瞻性陳述。

These statements are not historical facts and are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to update these statements except as required by law. For a full discussion of forward-looking statements, please refer to our earnings press release and presentation.

這些陳述並非歷史事實，並且受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果大不相同。除非法律要求，我們不承擔更新這些聲明的義務。有關前瞻性陳述的完整討論，請參閱我們的收益新聞稿和簡報。

With that said, I will now turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ricardo Ramos.

話雖如此，我現在將電話轉給我們的執行長里卡多·拉莫斯先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I would like to take a few minutes to share some highlights and provide a bit of color before we move to your questions. As expected, during the second quarter, we face lower lithium prices compared to the early this year. We drove revenues down by more than 3% year on year. More recently, we have seen a change in market dynamics, with prices improving in the past few weeks compared to the level observed in May and June.

大家早安，感謝大家的收看。在我們回答您的問題之前，我想花幾分鐘分享一些亮點並提供一些說明。正如預期的那樣，第二季我們面臨的鋰價與今年年初相比有所下降。我們的營收年減了3%以上。最近，我們看到市場動態發生了變化，與五月和六月的水平相比，過去幾週的價格有所改善。

We're seeing strong demand growth coming from EV and BESS, particularly in China. But also, Europe has surprised us with a stronger than expected demand growth. I'm pleased to share some positive news from Australia. Despite the expected lower sales volume seen in the second quarter, we're updating our sales guidance for the International Lithium Division to approximately 20,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent for the full calendar year 2025.

我們看到電動車和電池儲能係統的需求強勁成長，尤其是在中國。但同時，歐洲的需求成長超乎預期，也令我們感到驚訝。我很高興分享一些來自澳洲的正面消息。儘管預計第二季的銷售量將會下降，但我們仍將國際鋰部門的銷售預期更新為 2025 年全年約 20,000 公噸碳酸鋰當量。

As the mine is reaching full capacity, in addition, Kwinana refinery is now complete and delivered its first product on a spec on budget and on time last month. The ramp up is underway, and one at full capacity, the project is expected to produce 50,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide annually, with half attributable to SQM.

此外，隨著礦場達到滿載生產，奎那那煉油廠現已完工，並在上個月按預算按時交付了第一批產品。該專案目前正在進行產能提升，滿載運轉後，預計每年將生產 50,000 公噸氫氧化鋰，其中一半將歸功於 SQM。

Lithium sales volumes from product coming from the Salar de Atacama were almost flat compared to last year as lower prices triggered contract frauds that impacted volumes. Nevertheless, we expect the yearly sales volume from our Chilean operations to increase by at least 10% versus 2024.

來自阿塔卡馬鹽沼的鋰銷量與去年相比幾乎持平，因為較低的價格引發了合約欺詐，影響了銷售。儘管如此，我們預計智利業務的年銷售量將比 2024 年成長至少 10%。

Beyond lithium, our business continued to deliver solid results. Iodine was our most profitable segment in the second quarter with an adjusted gross margin of 57% and contributing more than 50% to the total company gross profit. Prices remain strong, supported by healthy demand and tight supply, and we expect this strength to continue into the coming years.

除了鋰之外，我們的業務繼續取得穩健的業績。碘是我們第二季最賺錢的業務部門，調整後的毛利率為 57%，對公司總毛利的貢獻率超過 50%。在健康需求和緊張供應的支撐下，價格仍然保持強勁，我們預計這種強勁勢頭將持續到未來幾年。

In fertilizers, our Specialty Plant Nutrition business remains stable, reflecting resilient demand across our key markets, while potassium volumes are lower as guided, but prices remain firm.

在肥料方面，我們的特種植物營養業務保持穩定，反映了我們主要市場的需求強勁，而鉀的產量則按預期下降，但價格保持堅挺。

Overall, our diversified portfolio positions as well to navigate in a volatile environment. We are confident that SQM is well placed to capture the strong fundamentals of the lithium market while continuing to deliver solid results across all our businesses.

整體而言，我們的多元化投資組合能夠應對動盪的環境。我們相信，SQM 能夠抓住鋰市場的強勁基本面，同時繼續在我們所有業務中取得穩健的表現。

Thank you, and we look forward to your questions.

謝謝，我們期待您的提問。

(Operator Instructions) Ben Isaacson, Scotiabank.

（操作員指示） 豐業銀行的 Ben Isaacson。

Thank you very much, and good day, everyone. I hope you're doing well. I have three questions, and I'll ask them one by one if that's okay. The first question is on SPN. Ricardo, we don't talk about it much, but it continues to be a really solid contributor of gross profit to the business. Can you talk about what is your midterm or long-term goal for where you want SPN to be? And in your answer, is that based on volume goal or an EBITDA goal or maybe a margin per ton goal? Thank you.

非常感謝，大家好。我希望你一切都好。我有三個問題，如果可以的話，我會一個一個問。第一個問題是關於 SPN 的。里卡多，我們很少談論它，但它仍然是公司毛利的真正堅實貢獻者。您能談談您希望 SPN 達到的中期或長期目標是什麼嗎？您的答案是基於產量目標、EBITDA 目標還是每噸利潤目標？謝謝。

Hi, Ben. This is Juan Pablo. Look, first of all, it is important to mention that our business in SPN is not only the potassium nitrate that we sell. Also, we have been developing for a couple of years ago a complementary business of blends based on MPKs that we have been deploying in our markets. So that has been giving us the chance to keep growing in this market, keeping the margins that we're having and the success to keep -- to remain as a main player in this industry.

你好，本。這是胡安·巴勃羅。首先，值得一提的是，我們在 SPN 的業務不僅僅是銷售硝酸鉀。此外，幾年前我們一直在開發基於 MPK 的混合物的補充業務，並將其部署在我們的市場上。因此，這給了我們在這個市場上繼續成長的機會，保持我們現有的利潤率和成功，並繼續作為這個行業的主要參與者。

So our midterm and long term are related to the same strategy, to keep growing, adding services and products to our customers in different regions, giving us the chance to remain our brand as a solid one and to keep -- being able to keep the prices where also we want to have. So I would say it's an idea of having more products, more services available for our customers growing in volume, but remaining with a solid brand to have the prices at this level.

因此，我們的中期和長期策略都與同一策略相關，即保持成長，為不同地區的客戶增加服務和產品，使我們有機會保持品牌的穩固性，並能夠將價格保持在我們想要的水平。所以我想說，我們的想法是，在不斷增加銷售的同時，為我們的客戶提供更多的產品、更多的服務，但同時保留一個穩固的品牌，將價格維持在這個水平。

That's great. Thank you. And my second question is on Mt. Holland. If you had asked me two months ago, I probably would have bet that the expansion wouldn't go ahead, but maybe that's not right now with lithium prices starting to improve. Can you comment on what you're thinking is on the expansion right now and how does the cash flow spending -- or sorry, how does the CapEx outlook impact your thinking as it comes to Salar Futuro?

那太棒了。謝謝。我的第二個問題是關於荷蘭山的。如果你兩個月前問我，我可能會打賭擴張不會繼續進行，但現在情況可能並非如此，因為鋰價格已經開始上漲。您能否評論一下您目前對擴張的想法以及現金流量支出如何 - 或者抱歉，資本支出前景如何影響您對 Salar Futuro 的想法？

Hi. Mark Fones here. Yes, as you probably have seen on our web page, we made a recently announcement that the expansion decision will not be taken during this year, 2025. And then we continue to progress, of course, with the approvals relevantly and engineering and studies over that project, and final decision will be periodically reviewed during next year. And we will consider not only market context. It will also consider how we're progressing with those engineering studies and particularly, the approvals.

你好。這裡是馬克·方斯。是的，正如您可能在我們的網頁上看到的那樣，我們最近宣布，擴張決定將不會在今年（2025 年）做出。當然，我們會繼續推進該專案的相關審批、工程和研究，並將在明年定期審查最終決定。我們不僅會考慮市場背景。它還將考慮我們在這些工程研究以及特別是審批方面的進展。

And finally, with all that information on the table, we will make a decision informed on the financial evolution and also on the progress of the refinery.

最後，根據所有這些信息，我們將根據財務狀況和煉油廠的進展做出決定。

Thank you. That makes sense. And then just my last question, and I've asked this question before, in iodine, it's a simple question. What is going to break iodine prices? Is it -- are we starting to see any signs of demand destruction, any changes to the new supply outlook over the next couple of years? Can you talk about that? It just continues to be so strong, and I'm not sure if anything will break it soon. Thank you.

謝謝。這很有道理。然後是我的最後一個問題，我之前問過這個問題，關於碘，這是一個簡單的問題。碘價將如何下跌？我們是否開始看到需求破壞的跡象，或未來幾年新的供應前景有任何變化？你能談談這個嗎？它一直如此強大，我不確定是否有什麼東西會很快打破它。謝謝。

Hi, Ben. It's Pablo Altimiras speaking. Well, regarding the iodine, for this year, as we said in our earning release, we expect that the demand will grow less than 1%, but the main reason is because we don't have supply. So that is the reason also that the demand is being impacted.

你好，本。我是 Pablo Altimiras。嗯，關於碘，正如我們在收益報告中所說，我們預計今年的需求成長將不到 1%，但主要原因是我們沒有供應。這也是需求受到影響的原因。

Having said that, for the next year, we expect that the growth will be there if the capacity also is there. But we see solid fundamentals in all the applications, especially in the ex-contrast media, which is needing more iodine every year. For the next year, we expect some capacity coming because it's supposed that some capacity should arrive this year. We see some delays, so we expect some additional capacity for the next year. However, because the demand is strong, we don't see, for the next year, a big change in the dynamic of the market that we see today.

話雖如此，對於明年，我們預計如果產能充足，就會有成長。但我們看到所有應用都有著堅實的基礎，特別是在造影劑領域，該領域每年都需要更多的碘。對於明年，我們預計會有一些產能到來，因為預計今年會有一些產能到達。我們看到了一些延誤，因此我們預計明年會增加一些產能。然而，由於需求強勁，我們認為明年市場動態不會像今天這樣發生重大變化。

And just in theory, the last time iodine prices were high, I can't remember how long it was, maybe about 12 years ago, when iodine prices started to fall, you started to cut your production. And that strategy didn't seem to work, and then you went full volume. Can you talk about if iodine prices start to break, have you thought about your strategy?

從理論上講，上次碘價高漲的時候，我不記得是多久以前了，大概是 12 年前，當碘價開始下跌時，你們就開始削減產量。但這個策略似乎沒有奏效，然後你就把音量調到最大了。您能否談談，如果碘價開始下跌，您是否考慮過您的策略？

Well, I would say that you cannot compare the dynamic of the market that we have today with some years ago. We see new applications that are growing much more than before. And our strategy is clear, is always to have the capacity to be prepared, to provide the best iodine to our customers. That we have been doing in the last year. We have -- we are growing Nueva Victoria. We build Pampa Blanca. We are also opening a new facility. We are growing with our seawater pipe project because our strategy is to have enough capacity to be there to respond to the demand, so not a big change on that.

嗯，我想說，我們今天的市場動態與幾年前的市場動態是無法比較的。我們看到新應用的成長速度比以前快得多。我們的策略很明確，就是隨時做好準備，為客戶提供最好的碘。這是我們去年一直在做的事情。我們正在發展新維多利亞。我們建造了 Pampa Blanca。我們還將開設一個新工廠。我們的海水管道專案正在不斷發展，因為我們的策略是擁有足夠的產能來滿足需求，因此在這方面不會有太大的變化。

Great. Thanks so much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Joel Jackson, BMO Capital Markets.

喬爾傑克森 (Joel Jackson)，BMO 資本市場。

I have a few questions, too, and I will also ask them one by one. Just going back to Mt. Holland and Kwinana, can you just confirm, so we have the numbers right, to hit 20,000 tons for your share in 2025, what would the volumes be in the second half of the year? And then some of the earlier hydroxide plants that come out in Australia, as we all know, had lots of problems. Do you have a sense yet if you will have a similar ramp up, if you're going kind of better than the two plants that came ahead of you? Thanks.

我也有幾個問題，也會一一問。回到荷蘭山和奎那那，您能否確認一下，如果我們的數字正確的話，到 2025 年您的份額將達到 20,000 噸，那麼下半年的產量是多少？眾所周知，澳洲早期的一些氫氧化物工廠存在著許多問題。您是否已經意識到，您是否會實現類似的成長，是否會比之前的兩家工廠表現得更好？謝謝。

Hi, Joel. Mark here. Regarding your first question, regarding the volumes for this year, what we have announced in the press release about being 20,000 tons for LCE for this year in sales mostly comes from sales of spodumene concentrate. And they will be mostly heavied into the second half of this year and between two quarters, so quarter three and quarter four of this year, probably evenly distributed among them.

你好，喬爾。標記在這裡。關於您的第一個問題，關於今年的銷量，我們在新聞稿中宣布，今年 LCE 的銷售量為 20,000 噸，主要來自鋰輝石精礦的銷售。而且這些影響將主要集中在今年下半年和兩個季度之間，因此今年第三季和第四季的影響可能會平均分佈在其中。

Regarding your second question, which is probably a more long one to answer, I think, let me start first with the factual perspective of it because we have, last week, announced a very relevant milestone, which is first product in quality, on budget, and on specifications. And that result arises from a lot of work done during the years between the teams, and it was a collective effort from planning to engineering to execution, which counted with the support and the contribution of the knowledge from SQM in lithium processing from Chile and China, so with farmers with their processing technology and experience in Kwinana strip, and that's how we reached that relevant milestone.

關於你的第二個問題，可能需要更長的時間來回答，我想，讓我先從事實的角度開始，因為我們上周宣布了一個非常相關的里程碑，即第一個在質量、預算和規格上都符合要求的產品。這項成果源自於團隊多年來的大量工作，從規劃到工程再到執行，都是集體的努力，這得益於智利和中國 SQM 在鋰加工方面的知識支持和貢獻，也得益於奎那那地帶農民的加工技術和經驗，我們就這樣達到了這一重要的里程碑。

So as we now look ahead at the additional challenge we have for ramping up now the operations in Kwinana, well, we'll face it the same way. And I cannot talk about third parties or others, how they have done it, but I can tell you that we are facing that challenge again with a lot of planning, a lot of knowledge. We only started the construction of the refinery when we had 80% of engineering in detailed design. And that's not what usually you do in the market.

因此，當我們展望現在擴大奎那那業務所面臨的額外挑戰時，我們將以同樣的方式面對它。我無法談論第三方或其他人是如何做到的，但我可以告訴你，我們正再次面臨這項挑戰，需要大量的規劃和知識。當我們的工程細節設計完成 80% 時，我們才開始建造煉油廠。這並不是你在市場上通常會做的事情。

So we started when we were ready and we knew what we were doing. And in addition to that, we have established provisions of the refinery, provisions that come also in having additional capacity on critical equipment, as well as additional physical space to install additional equipment for refining if we need so.

所以當我們準備好並且知道自己在做什麼時，我們就開始行動。除此之外，我們也制定了煉油廠的規定，這些規定還包括在關鍵設備上增加產能，以及在需要時安裝額外煉油設備的額外實體空間。

And finally, I can name our relevant vendors. We have very good vendors supporting us in this ramp up period, particularly two technology partners, which are day and night together with us today in the refinery, particularly in the areas of pyro calcination and crystallization. So as you see, this is a collective effort. It started many years ago, and we will tackle it together with our partners, and they are great team in (inaudible). Thank you.

最後，我可以說出我們相關的供應商。在這個加速期，我們有非常好的供應商支持我們，特別是兩個技術合作夥伴，他們今天在煉油廠日夜與我們在一起，特別是在高溫煅燒和結晶領域。所以如你所見，這是一項集體努力。這個問題很多年前就開始了，我們會和我們的合作夥伴一起解決這個問題，他們是一支很棒的團隊。（聽不清楚）。謝謝。

Okay. Obviously, we've seen a churn of lithium market in the last couple months. Everyone sees it. Everyone knows it. Can we talk about your order book and your discussion with customers and how they've changed the last month or two? So you were going into the end of Q2. Early Q3, you were selling -- the prices were going below the floors in your contracts. Volumes are being changed. Suddenly, prices have gone up now a lot, maybe [CNY20,000] a ton for LCE. And now you're having different discussions.

好的。顯然，過去幾個月我們看到鋰市場發生了劇烈波動。每個人都看到了。每個人都知道。我們可以談談您的訂單、您與客戶的討論以及他們在過去一兩個月中發生了哪些變化嗎？所以你已經進入第二季末了。第三季初，您正在銷售—價格低於合約規定的底價。正在更改磁碟區。突然間，價格上漲了很多，LCE 可能漲到了每噸 [20,000 元人民幣]。現在你們正在進行不同的討論。

Can you talk about how the discussions have changed, how your order books have changed, have some of your contracts -- short-term contracts now broken because the customers didn't pay the floor and so now you went out and sold elsewhere? Like just tell me whatever, what's changed the last two months, if anything. Thanks.

您能否談談討論情況如何變化，您的訂單情況如何變化，您的一些合約——短期合約是否已經破裂，因為客戶沒有支付底價，所以您現在到其他地方銷售？例如，只要告訴我過去兩個月發生了什麼變化，如果有的話。謝謝。

Hi, Joel. This is Felipe. Look, I would like to comment first of all, what we see for the second semester. I think it's important to share that with you. I will speak about the volume and the prices. And regarding the Chile lithium division, I would like to say that sales volume reached [517,000] tons in Q2, which is similar as Q2 last year and slightly lower than Q1. However, I am very optimistic, and I expect that our sales in Q3 should be at least 10% higher than Q2.

你好，喬爾。這是費利佩。首先，我想評論一下我們對第二學期的看法。我認為與你們分享這一點很重要。我將談論數量和價格。關於智利鋰業務，我想說的是，第二季的銷售量達到了 [517,000] 噸，與去年第二季相似，略低於第一季。不過，我非常樂觀，我預計我們第三季的銷售額至少會比第二季高出 10%。

Also, the sales in the second semester of this year are expected to be higher than the first semester and higher than the second semester of last year, which would allow us to increase the yearly volume by at least 10%. So this is regarding the volume.

此外，今年第二學期的銷售額預計將高於第一學期，也高於去年第二學期，這將使我們的年銷量增加至少 10%。這是關於音量的問題。

And regarding the price, during Q3 2025, lithium carbonate prices in China have been recovering and over the last two weeks at high speed, following the news about potential supply reductions. Prices in Asia ex-China have also been recovering but at a reduced pace when compared to Chinese prices.

就價格而言，2025 年第三季度，中國碳酸鋰價格一直在回升，並且在過去兩週內，隨著潛在供應減少的消息傳出，價格上漲速度很快。中國以外亞洲地區的價格也一直在回升，但與中國價格相比，回升速度有所放緩。

Since our sales volumes are concentrated in China and that realized prices remain mainly linked to price indexes, we expect that with the recent price recovery in China, our sales price in Q3 should be higher than Q2. So the good news here is that we will have a better volume next quarter and a better price next quarter.

由於我們的銷售量集中在中國，且實現價格主要與價格指數掛鉤，我們預期隨著近期中國價格的回升，我們第三季的銷售價格應該高於第二季。因此，好消息是，下個季度我們的銷售和價格都會更好。

And regarding our strategy, I will not go in the details of the contracts because these are confidential. But regarding our strategy, as we have done always, our strategy remains to produce at full capacity, to expand such capacity in line with the expected market growth. We do not speculate, and we sell and serve the needs of our customers.

關於我們的策略，我不會透露合約的細節，因為這些都是保密的。但就我們的策略而言，正如我們一貫所做的那樣，我們的策略仍然是滿載生產，並根據預期的市場成長擴大產能。我們不進行投機，我們根據客戶的需求進行銷售和服務。

Maybe just following up on that, one last try here. So going to Q3 and Q4, are your prices really reflective of spot prices at this point? Like if we follow the spot prices, we should really get your price about right?

也許只是為了跟進這一點，最後一次嘗試。那麼進入第三季和第四季，你們的價格真的反映了現貨價格嗎？例如，如果我們遵循現貨價格，我們應該可以得到您的價格，對嗎？

Well, depending on the contracts, we tend to be very close to the spot price. We only have small differences or gaps from the moment you apply the index calculation in the contract and the actual spot, but we are really close to the spot levels.

嗯，根據合同，我們往往非常接近現貨價格。從應用合約中的指數計算到實際現貨，我們只有很小的差異或差距，但我們非常接近現貨水準。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions) Cesar Perez Novoa, BTG Pactual.

（操作員說明）Cesar Perez Novoa，BTG Pactual。

Could you please comment on Mt. Holland mine economics, namely your short-term costs, maybe your startup cost and long-term cost when the asset is fully ramped, I believe, 18 months from now? How comparable is that is that OpEx relative to the Salar de Atacama?

您能否評論一下 Mt. Holland 礦山的經濟狀況，即您的短期成本、啟動成本，以及資產全面投入使用後的長期成本（我相信是 18 個月後）？該營運支出與阿塔卡馬鹽沼相比有何可比性？

And if I may, a second question on Salar Futuro, where do we stand on its implementation? Has SQM already presented the conceptual engineering design? And if so, what CapEx deployment should we think of on an annual basis? Thank you very much.

如果可以的話，我想問第二個關於 Salar Futuro 的問題，我們的實施進度如何？SQM 是否已經提出了概念工程設計？如果是這樣，我們每年應該考慮哪些資本支出部署？非常感謝。

Hi, Cesar. Mark here again. And well, as you know, we continue to be in ramp up mode, both in the refinery and also still to reach a 100% capacity production in Mt. Holland. And as such, our current production cost is not yet reflective of our long-term projections.

你好，塞薩爾。再次在此標記。而且，如您所知，我們將繼續處於提升模式，無論是在煉油廠，還是在荷蘭山，都仍要達到 100% 的產能生產。因此，我們目前的生產成本尚未反映我們的長期預測。

We are at all profitable in the current scenario, but our reasons remain to produce lithium hydroxide, and our sales of spodumene concentrate is a temporary solution while we ramp up the refinery. And we remain flexible to sell between one and the other.

在目前的情況下，我們完全可以獲利，但我們生產氫氧化鋰的理由依然存在，而銷售鋰輝石精礦只是我們在擴大精煉廠產能期間的一個臨時解決方案。我們仍然可以靈活地在兩者之間進行銷售。

On the long-term prediction spodumene concentrate, though, we expect to be between the top producers in Western Australia concentrate. And regarding the refinery, the successful development of the refinery production in the long term will generate satisfactory returns, considering the structure where we expect to be around the middle of the industry cost curve. Thank you.

不過，從長期預測來看，我們預期鋰輝石精礦將成為西澳大利亞精礦中最大的生產商之一。就煉油廠而言，考慮到我們預期位於產業成本曲線中間的結構，長期來看，煉油廠生產的成功發展將產生令人滿意的回報。謝謝。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Cesar, Ricardo speaking. About Salar Futuro, we are working very hard with Codelco in order to be ready to submit our environmental study to the authority during next year. It's a huge project. It's a complex project, a beautiful project. But we're not going to be ready until probably beginning second half next year. At that moment, when we filed the environmental study, just before that, we will be very clear, and we will disclosure the CapEx in detail together with Codelco.

塞薩爾，我是里卡多。關於Salar Futuro，我們正在與Codelco密切合作，準備在明年向當局提交我們的環境研究報告。這是一個巨大的工程。這是一個複雜的項目，也是一個美麗的項目。但我們可能要等到明年下半年才能做好準備。那時，當我們提交環境研究報告時，就在那之前，我們會非常清楚，我們會與 Codelco 一起詳細揭露資本支出。

Anyway, because it is a complex project and it will be an interesting analysis and a study at different levels, we think it's reasonable to expect to have an approval of the project during the beginning -- maybe during 2030, I hope next -- first half of 2030. And as you may know, we cannot invest in Salar Futuro until we have the total approval. You cannot start investing in the project without approval. That's why the CapEx of Salar Futuro, it will be starting to be reflected probably during the second half of 2030, the beginning of the project -- of the CapEx.

無論如何，因為這是一個複雜的項目，需要在不同層面進行有趣的分析和研究，我們認為，預計該項目在開始時獲得批准是合理的——也許是在 2030 年，我希望是 2030 年上半年。您可能知道，在獲得全面批准之前，我們不能對 Salar Futuro 進行投資。未經批准，您不能開始投資該專案。這就是為什麼 Salar Futuro 的資本支出可能會在 2030 年下半年，也就是專案開始時——資本支出開始體現出來。

And most of the CapEx will be reflected '31, '32, and some of '33. That's why it will not affect in significant term the CapEx of next year, 2026, toward '27 or '28 or '29. Anyway, of course, we will -- we have some expenses and CapEx related to the environmental study. But compared to the full project, CapEx is not relevant.

大部分資本支出將反映在 31 年、32 年和 33 年的部分。這就是為什麼它不會對明年、2026 年、2027 年、2028 年或 2029 年的資本支出產生重大影響。無論如何，當然，我們會——我們有一些與環境研究相關的費用和資本支出。但與整個專案相比，資本支出並不相關。

All right. Thank you very much, Ricardo and Mark.

好的。非常感謝里卡多和馬克。

Isabella Simonato, Bank of America.

伊莎貝拉·西蒙納托，美國銀行。

Thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to go back a little bit to the iodine business. I think it's pretty clear, your views on demand and how strong the market is. But when you -- I think, what is mapped in terms of supply for the next couple of years? And how do you see the balance of the market? I think it's still a little bit unclear what type of the supply additions we're talking about in this environment in considering these prices and what you guys see at the bottleneck for that supply to continue to grow more sustainably, given where prices are. I think that is my first question.

感謝您回答我的問題。我想稍微回顧一下碘的生意。我認為您對需求和市場強度的看法非常清楚。但當你——我想，未來幾年的供應情況是怎麼樣的？您如何看待市場的平衡？我認為，考慮到這些價格，我們在這種環境下談論的供應增加類型仍然有點不清楚，考慮到價格水平，你們認為供應繼續更可持續增長的瓶頸是什麼。我想這是我的第一個問題。

And the second one, back to the deal with Codelco, I think there was an expectation that this would get done by September, just wondering if there's any new update in terms of timing. Thank you.

第二，回到與 Codelco 的交易，我認為預計該交易將在 9 月前完成，只是想知道在時間方面是否有任何新的更新。謝謝。

Hi, Isabella. Pablo Altimiras speaking. Well, have you seen in the last year, we have seen a lack of supply. It's not the case of SQM. Actually, we have been one of the only companies that have been able to provide more iodine in the last years. That is our plan. As I said before, we are not only growing in Nueva Victoria. We are also -- we also open a Pampa Blanca, and now we are working in a new greenfield project where the idea is to provide 1,500 additional metric tons of iodine. And on top of that, we are continue growing in our seawater pipeline to provide more iodine and to increase significantly in capacity in Nueva Victoria.

你好，伊莎貝拉。我是 Pablo Altimiras。嗯，您是否看到，去年我們出現了供應短缺的情況。這不是 SQM 的情況。實際上，我們是近年來唯一能夠提供更多碘的公司之一。這就是我們的計劃。正如我之前所說，我們不僅在新維多利亞發展。我們還開設了 Pampa Blanca，現在我們正在進行一個新的綠地項目，目的是額外提供 1,500 公噸碘。除此之外，我們還將繼續擴大海水管道，以提供更多的碘，並大幅提高新維多利亞的容量。

So regarding to SQM we are investing a lot of money to be prepared to supply more iodine because of the needs of our customers. Regarding to the other players, well, as I said before, we expect some supply in the next year. Regarding to the next year, we are following the -- I mean, we are following what's going to happen. We don't know. What is important here is to consider the capacity of planning because today, environmental restriction and these kind of things maybe are the main bottlenecks to see a new supply.

因此，對於 SQM，我們正在投入大量資金，準備提供更多的碘，以滿足客戶的需求。至於其他參與者，正如我之前所說，我們預計明年會有一些供應。關於明年，我們正在關注——我的意思是，我們正在關注將要發生的事情。我們不知道。這裡重要的是考慮規劃的能力，因為今天，環境限制和諸如此類的事情可能是新供應的主要瓶頸。

So planning is very important, and that's what we have been doing as a company: to plan and to have a very good lecture about the demand and then to build the new supply.

因此，規劃非常重要，這也是我們公司一直在做的事情：規劃並充分了解需求，然後建立新的供應。

Okay. About the project with Codelco, just to inform you that we're very positive about the results of the process. We are moving really fast, and we maintain our schedule. It means that it has to be ready during September, maybe October, but it's going to be ready during this year anyway.

好的。關於與 Codelco 合作的項目，只是想告訴您，我們對過程的結果非常樂觀。我們的進展非常快，並且保持著我們的計劃。這意味著它必須在九月份，也許是十月份準備好，但無論如何它都會在今年準備好。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Emerson Vieira, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的埃默森·維埃拉。

I have two questions. The first one, on the cost curve of the sector. If I recall, in the previous earnings conference, you guys mentioned that you estimate about 40% of the supply was under the water at the low prices at the time. Can you provide us an update on how -- I mean, on what is the supply amount right now that could still be underwater at current prices? So that's question number one.

我有兩個問題。第一個，關於產業成本曲線。如果我沒記錯的話，在先前的收益會議上，你們提到估計當時低價時大約有 40% 的供應處於虧損狀態。您能否向我們提供最新資訊——我的意思是，目前的供應量有多少可能仍然低於當前價格？這是第一個問題。

And question number two, can you please provide us an update on CapEx expected for 2026, '27, given that the construction of the refinery was already completed, and you have the seawater pipeline coming in line with expectations, please? Thank you.

第二個問題，鑑於煉油廠的建設已經完成，並且海水管道的建設也符合預期，您能否向我們提供 2026 年、2027 年預計的資本支出最新情況？謝謝。

Hey, Emerson. This is Paul Hernandez speaking. So regarding your first question on the cost curve, today prices, which have increased significantly since what we saw a couple of weeks ago, we believe, are still below what the balance would be between the supply and demand. So we still believe that there are some competitors in the space that are -- with costs that are higher than current pricing. And of course, therefore, in the long run, if we think about long-term pricing, everybody in the space, I guess, believes that the prices should be a little bit higher than what we are today.

嘿，艾默生。我是保羅·埃爾南德斯。因此，關於您關於成本曲線的第一個問題，我們認為，今天的價格自幾週前以來已經大幅上漲，但仍然低於供需平衡水平。因此，我們仍然相信，該領域存在一些競爭對手，其成本高於當前定價。當然，從長遠來看，如果我們考慮長期定價，我想這個領域的每個人都認為價格應該比現在略高一些。

Hi, Emerson. This is Gerardo. Regarding your question about the CapEx, usually, once a year, we make a full review of our CapEx plan for the next few years. And once we do that, we present it to the market. And we expect to do that during this quarter and be in a position to share updates with the market during the third quarter's earnings call.

你好，艾默生。這是傑拉爾多。關於您提到的資本支出問題，通常我們每年都會對未來幾年的資本支出計劃進行全面審查。一旦我們做到這一點，我們就會將其推向市場。我們預計將在本季完成這項工作，並能夠在第三季的收益電話會議上與市場分享最新進展。

In any case, it's important to remember that out of approximately $1 billion of CapEx that we have announced before per year for the years '25 to '27, the very vast majority of that CapEx is growth CapEx. The maintenance CapEx is approximately $250 million per year across all our divisions. So what we do in this exercise that I explained before is we review which other opportunities we have there and how each of these projects are evolving to see whether we have other opportunities or something in these projects could change. So as soon as we have that, we will share it with the market.

無論如何，重要的是要記住，在我們之前宣布的 2025 年至 2027 年每年約 10 億美元的資本支出中，絕大多數是成長資本支出。我們所有部門的維護資本支出每年約為 2.5 億美元。因此，我們在這個練習中所做的就是，我之前解釋過，我們要回顧我們還有哪些其他機會，以及每個項目是如何發展的，以了解我們是否還有其他機會，或者這些項目中是否會發生一些變化。因此，一旦我們有了它，我們就會與市場分享。

All right. Thank you. Thank you for the answers.

好的。謝謝。謝謝你的回答。

Corinne Blanchard, Deutsche Bank.

科琳‧布蘭查德，德意志銀行。

Two questions here. Can you speak first about -- give us an update on the progress with the conversation with Codelco and the local groups? Anything you can give here in terms of future steps and kind of when you expect to have that completed would be helpful.

這裡有兩個問題。您能否先談談——向我們介紹一下與 Codelco 和當地團體對話的進展？如果您能提供關於未來步驟以及預計何時完成的任何信息，將會很有幫助。

And the second question, if you can speak about your current lithium inventory level, just to give us an idea. That would be helpful. Thank you.

第二個問題，您能否談談您目前的鋰庫存水平，以便讓我們了解一下。那將會很有幫助。謝謝。

Okay. Hi, Corinne. About Codelco, the process, as I mentioned before, is moving in the right direction, and we're really moving fast. And as you may know, the process with the communities which is led by Corfo is moving in the right direction, is according the stated deadlines. We're very positive it's going to result in the next few weeks. Everything is going to be positive in our opinion.

好的。你好，科琳。關於 Codelco，正如我之前提到的，整個過程正朝著正確的方向發展，而且我們進展得非常快。您可能知道，由 Corfo 領導的與社區合作的進程正朝著正確的方向發展，並按照規定的期限進行。我們非常有信心在接下來的幾週內就能取得成果。我們認為一切都會變得積極。

We have to keep in mind and remember that SQM-Codelco project is very positive for Chile, for the Antofagasta region, and mainly for the nearby communities. That's why I think it's a strong point, our relation with the communities, and it's going to be positive.

我們必須牢記並記住，SQM-Codelco 計畫對智利、安託法加斯塔地區以及主要對附近社區都非常有利。這就是為什麼我認為我們與社區的關係是一個強項，而且將是積極的。

There's other issues that we're working on it. One of them, of course, is have all the regulatory authorities' authorizations as it has been informed the Chinese regulatory authorities is reviewing the transaction. We have provided them all the information and explained the agreement with Codelco in full detail. This agreement again is a positive one for all consumers, both in China and around the world.

我們正在處理其他問題。其中之一當然是獲得所有監管機構的授權，因為據悉中國監管機構正在審查該交易。我們向他們提供了所有信息，並詳細解釋了與Codelco的協議。這項協議對中國乃至全世界的所有消費者來說都是利好消息。

We are really optimistic about the review, and we think it will conclude positively in the next coming weeks. [Those] are the main topics, points are pending, and we are advancing all other small points. That's why, as I mentioned before, we foresee a final full approval of the transaction in the next two months. Thank you.

我們對這次審查非常樂觀，相信未來幾週就能得出正面結論。 [這些]是主要議題，其他要點尚待確定，其他所有小要點我們都在推進中。這就是為什麼，正如我之前提到的，我們預計該交易將在未來兩個月內獲得最終的全面批准。謝謝。

Hi, Corinne. This is Carlos Diaz. Regarding to the lithium inventory, we have a healthy position right now that is according to our production of this year. We expect to be close to 230,000 ton, and ourselves, as Felipe will explain, will be 10% higher than compared with last year. So our inventory is according to (inaudible) and what we are projected for next year.

你好，科琳。這是卡洛斯·迪亞茲。就鋰庫存而言，根據我們今年的產量，我們目前的庫存狀況良好。我們預計產量將接近 23 萬噸，正如 Felipe 所解釋的那樣，產量將比去年高出 10%。因此，我們的庫存是根據（聽不清楚）以及我們對明年的預測。

And just to finalize that way, to talk about that we are really optimistic about the business of this year. The lithium demand remains strong and price environment. Although it's extremely (inaudible) has shown positive sign of recovery. SQM is a long-term player, and we are cost competitive. We are a high-quality producer, and we have developed a strong commercial and logistic infrastructure.

最後，我們來談談我們對今年的業務確實感到樂觀。鋰需求依然強勁，價格環境也依然良好。儘管它極其（聽不清楚）已顯示出復甦的積極跡象。SQM 是長期參與者，我們的成本具有競爭力。我們是一家高品質生產商，並已建立強大的商業和物流基礎設施。

So what I said before, we keep the (inaudible) about the business, and our inventory, keep them in a healthy position.

所以我之前說過，我們保持（聽不清楚）有關業務和庫存的狀態，保持它們處於健康狀態。

All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. And this concludes our Q&A session and conference for today. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

好的，女士們、先生們，謝謝大家。今天的問答環節和會議到此結束。感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝大家有個愉快的一天。