Lithium producer Livent’s stock falls toward 3-month low after revenue misses expectations, as volume was flat but prices were lower

Shares of Livent Corp.
LTHM,
-2.51%
dropped 1.8% toward a three-month low in after-hours trading Thursday, after the producer of lithium, which is used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, reported second-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, as volume was roughly flat but prices were lower and costs where higher. Net income rose to $90.2 million, or 43 cents a share, from $60.0 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 47 cents. Revenue grew 7.8% to $235.8 million, to miss the FactSet consensus of $253.9 million. The company affirmed its full-year revenue guidance range of $1.025 billion to $1.125 billion, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $1.093 billion. “As anticipated, we experienced the lagged impact of lower market prices in certain lithium products and end markets, as well as higher operating costs during the quarter,” said Chief Executive Peter Graves. The stock, which closed the regular-session down 2.5%, has rallied 15.3% year to date while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.25%
has advanced 17.3%.