Lithium producer Albemarle Corp. late Monday upgraded its guidance for the year, mostly thanks to additional lithium contract renegotiations following blowout first-quarter earnings earlier this month. Albemarle said it expects fiscal 2022 sales between $5.8 billion and $6.2 billion, compared with a prior guidance of sales between $5.2 billion and $5.6 billion, and adjusted per-share earnings between $12.30 and $15, from $9.25 to $12.25 a share. It kept expectations for cash expenditures the same, between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion. The company expects average realized pricing for lithium to be up about 140% year-over-year from variable-price contracts and increased market pricing, it said. Volume is expected to be up between 20% and 30% due to new capacity, unchanged from the previous outlook, the company said. Shares of Albemarle rose 0.5% in the extended session Monday after ending the regular trading day up 2.8%.
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