Largo Reports Best Income Results to Date as Vanadium Prices Soar

Largo Resources (TSX:LGO) made a strong showing in Q1, with financials indicating the company’s net revenue was C$45.8 million.

The Canadian vanadium producer reports Q1 was the most profitable quarter the company has experienced thanks to its growing vanadium output, with production reaching 2,214 tonnes of V2O5 in Q1 2018 – a 7 percent increase over Q1 2017.

“We are extremely pleased to report the highest net income recorded in the company’s history for the first quarter of 2018,” President and CEO Mark Smith said in a press release.

“Operations at the Maracás Menchen mine continued to generate significant operating cash flows and the company remains committed to delivering strong financial performance for the balance of the year.”

Q1 2018 has been much different for Largo than Q1 2017, when the company experienced a net loss of C$9.7 million. While revenues are up for the vanadium miner, there was a slight production slump the first three months of this year when compared with Q4 2017.

The reduction has been attributed to production downtime in January and February due to premature wearing of the cooler refractory.

“Production for the quarter was impacted by unexpected maintenance to the cooler refractory, which has since been resolved and operations exiting the quarter returned to normalized production levels,” Smith added. “We remain laser focused on stable production and maintaining the lowest possible unit costs at the Maracás Menchen mine. Our goal is to be the most profitable vanadium operation in any pricing environment.”

The Maracás Menchen mine in Brazil is Largo’s primary asset and is slated for expansion, which is expected to increase production output by as much as 200 tonnes, according to an April press release.

“The new expansion plan for the Maracás Menchen mine paves the way for a new chapter of growth for Largo and culminates in additional and significant free cash generation for the company assuming current V2O5 prices,” Smith said at the time. “As the demand for vanadium increases worldwide, Largo remains committed to being the go-to name for vanadium.”

In late March, Largo was also able to complete a restructuring and conversion of its existing swap facility, which included a C$11.5 million payment to Banco Pine for accrued interest. This restructuring, combined with an increase in the company’s trade receivables, allowed Largo to improve its working capital position.

Demand for vanadium has increased in the last years and is expected to keep up as the energy metal continues to be a vital resource for energy storage, as well as an alloy for hardening steel.

On Tuesday (May 8), Largo’s share price was up 7.19 percent closing at C$1.79.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.