Lithium Argentina AG

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Lithium Argentina Q1 2026 earnings presentation. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star 1 again. I will now hand the conference over to Kelly O'Brien, VP, Investor Relations. Kelly, please go ahead.

Thank you for the introduction. I want to welcome everyone to our conference call this morning. Joining me on the call today to discuss the first quarter 2026 results is Sam Piggott, CEO of Lithium Argentina. Alex Shoba, our CFO, will also be available for Q&A. Before we begin, I would like to cover a few items. Our first quarter 2026 earning results were press released earlier this morning, and the corresponding documents are available on our website. I remind you that some of the statements made during this call, including any production guidance, expected company performance, update on development plans, the timing of our project, and market conditions, may be considered forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements in our presentation, MD&A, and news releases. I will now turn the call over to Sam Pickett.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. The first quarter of 2026 represented another very strong quarter as Kachari-Oloraz continued to operate at or near design capacity while beginning to generate meaningful cash flow. During the quarter, production totaled about 9,700 tons of lithium carbonate, with the operation average being approximately 97% of nameplate capacity, a level we've been able to consistently run for the past two quarters. This performance also highlights the progress we are making on costs. First quarter operating cash costs were down again to just under $5,400 per ton, making Kachari-Olaroz one of the lowest cost lithium operations globally. I also want to highlight that since the beginning of the year, we've been able to distribute around $100 million in cash from Kachari-Olaroz, $48 million for Lithium Argentina's share, strengthening our balance sheet and highlighting the cash-generating capability of the operation. This quarter reinforces the importance of Kachari-Olaroz, both in what we've achieved with Stage 1 and in the opportunity to grow from here. On the left side of the slide, we've summarized operational and financial metrics for the quarter at Kachari-Olaroz. which reflect both strong operations and an improving lithium pricing environment. As noted previously, realized prices increased to just under $17,000 per ton for the first three months of the year, compared to just over $9,000 per ton in the fourth quarter last year. Combined with stable production and continued cost discipline, we have produced an over three-fold increase in EBITDA quarter over quarter. Adjusted EBITDA, which removes primarily non-cash FX fluctuations, increased to $106 million for the quarter, up from $30 million in the fourth quarter. Turning to costs. Last quarter, we highlighted the progress of our cost reduction efforts at the operation, and I am pleased to say that we reduced them even further in the first quarter, bringing our cash operating costs down below $5,400 per ton. While these costs demonstrate what the operation is capable of, some quarter-to-quarter variability should be expected as we remain focused on driving costs lower over the long term. We are also watching the situation in the Middle East closely, and so far we are seeing a limited impact related to costs and availability of key supplies or reagents, such as soda ash. The operations at Kachari Olaraz do not require an energy-intensive process, have minimal diesel needs, and do not need sulfuric acid, relying principally on solar evaporation. As noted previously, direct diesel consumption makes up less than 3% of our direct operating costs. I think it's important to spend some time showing how the EBITDA generated at Kachari-Oloraz translates to cash flow. As mentioned, during Q1, the operation generated $106 million in adjusted EBITDA. There is roughly a two-month lag between when these sales are made and when the cash is received at the operation. As we have outlined, we are expecting over 90%, nearly all, of this EBITDA to convert to free cash flow this year and support our growth plans by providing capital to strengthen and de-risk our balance sheet. We expect this cash flow generation should become increasingly evident through the second and third quarters. In terms of adjustments, during the first quarter, sustaining CapEx was even lower than normalized levels estimated at around $4 to $5 million per quarter. On the interest side, we have a small amount of third-party project level debt, which is approximately the same as it was at the beginning of the year, even after making around $100 million in distributions and represents less than 0.5 times net debt to Q1 EBITDA on an annualized basis. Related to tax and other costs, we expect cash taxes to increase in the coming years, but we are realizing the benefits of accelerated depreciation and our intercompany loan structure, which is providing a much stronger cash flow generation during these early years of operations. The high level of cash flow generation from EBITDA during both high and low price scenarios is important to understand to see how we will leverage this cash flow to support our expansion plans and de-risk our balance sheet. Now, turning to our outlook for 2026, this year's production guidance of 35,000 to 40,000 tons remains unchanged. This estimate has some flexibility built in as we look to optimize this year's production and also consider efforts to support sustained higher production levels in the years to come. We have provided an EBITDA outlook across a range of prices and see substantial upside as market reference prices move closer to the futures pricing. Currently, our realized prices include an approximate 6 to 7 percent adjustment to market pricing. We expect this differential will decrease as consistency continues to improve and product quality evolves. Recent lithium prices range from roughly $20,000 to $30,000 per ton. At those levels, the operation is capable of generating approximately $460 million to $630 million of EBITDA in 2026 on a 100 percent basis. Moving to the market. we are seeing a much more constructive view on price and the sustainability of these higher prices based on accelerated energy storage demand. On the EV side, we are seeing a much stronger outlook today, including for commercial vehicles, than at the start of the year. This is supported by recent developments in the oil market, as well as the increasingly strong performance, low cost of batteries, which now offer longer ranges and faster charging capabilities. It will take time to bring on enough new lithium supply to meet that growing demand. Large-scale and high-quality projects with experienced teams and a successful track record are rare. Against that backdrop, we believe assets like Chari-Olraz Stage 2 and PPG are becoming increasingly strategic within the global lithium supply chain. During the first quarter, we made substantial progress advancing and de-risking our Stage 2 development plan. which is targeting to add an additional 45,000 tons per year of production capacity. One of the key upcoming milestones is the approval of the RIGI application, which was filed late last year. We understand this is progressing well and could be approved as early as this quarter. Another important catalyst is the advancement of the environmental permits. This is underpinned by a recently updated resource estimate and a basin-wide hydrogeological model supporting the project's ability to sustainably extract brine needed for these higher production levels. We are working closely with our partner to finalize the development plan mid-year. Building off the success of Stage 1, the plan is expected to incorporate new technologies while leveraging Ganfang's expertise in lithium chemical processing and modular construction capabilities in China to help optimize timelines and overall development costs. We believe future growth should be funded in a manner aligned with shareholder interests, prioritizing stage one cash flow generation and access to low cost project level debt where appropriate, while minimizing the need for equity issuance and limiting shareholder dilution. I want to spend a minute talking about the communities around Kachari-Olaroz because these relationships are an important part of the operation. We've been working in the region for many years now and have built long-term relationships with communities across the region through agreements, local hiring, procurement, and ongoing engagement as the operation has grown. And I think that's important context as we discuss stage two. We expect ongoing dialogue with the neighboring communities where important relationships have been built and expect this to be an important part of supporting the next phase of growth at Kishore-Olaroz. Moving to PPG. This is an equally important part of our longer-term growth platform in Argentina and represents a key source of value. As a reminder, the scoping study released late last year outlined a phase development plan for getting up to 150,000 tons of lithium carbonate production over time, beginning with an initial 50,000-ton phase. By confining three separate projects, we believe PPG will be one of Argentina's largest lithium operations. benefiting from scale and synergies related to being a single operator across one single massive lithium system. Our focus here is also to de-risk and provide a path to value creation for Lithium Argentina shareholders. Working with Ganfang, we were looking at the option to bring in a minority investor at the project level. So far, we have been very pleased with both the level and breadth of interest there is from global groups seeking exposure to large-scale, low-cost, and scalable lists and supply from brines. PPG is on a strong path to create value. The combined assets have a historic book value of $1.7 billion based on investments made, and the development plan has a range of NPV values from $6 billion to $8 billion. Overall, I believe funding a minority partner for PPG represents an opportunity to continue growing responsibly and unlocking significant value in a manner that does not require equity dilution or reliance on cash flow from Kachari Olaroz. As we look ahead, our focus remains on disciplined execution at Kachari Olaroz. The stronger financial position established over the past year supported by distributions from Kachari Olaroz and the recently completed debt facility alongside Ganfeng, provides additional financial flexibility. At the same time, we continue to advance and systematically de-risk our broader growth platform, which includes Stage 2 and PPG. These projects will benefit from the ongoing permitting progress, RIGI approvals, development planning, other key upcoming technical and financial milestones. As we look to broaden our investor base and improve market visibility globally, we are considering plans for a secondary listing on the ASX, which we believe could further strengthen our position with international investors and support long-term shareholder value. Our focus remains on disciplined execution and continuing to systematically de-risk the broader growth platform in Argentina.

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, Press again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A water. Your first question comes from the line of Anthony Taglieri with Canaccord. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Thank you for taking my questions. What might be a good expectation for cash distributions coming from the JV for the rest of the year, just given, obviously, the $48 million attributable generated year-to-date

um 90 free cash flow conversion targeted and you know how does this mesh with other objectives like paying down debt and funding the stage two expansion uh yeah i think um the way we look at it is that the the project is going to be generating a significant amount of cash um that will show up in q2 q3 q4 the remainder of the year uh you know i think between prices of 20 to 30 it's you know eva dove 460 to 630 cash flow conversion of 90 so you can see how the cash is going to build within the business um i i think the the priority number one will be redeploying part of that cash into preparing for stage two. However, it's certainly not going to absorb that amount of cash. So for the remainder, I think the secondary priority will be to make cash distributions. The joint venture level debt profile has improved a lot. So it's been turned down, very low cost, currently running at 0.5 times net debt, kind of annualized Q1 EBITDA. So we feel very comfortable with that. So I think we'll, you know, we'll continue to work in the line with Ganfeng on making cash distributions throughout the year. And also, you know, spending on early stage capex, certainly after we get the RIGI approval for stage two in preparation for the expansion that will be coming.

Okay, great. And maybe just following up with that, you know, assuming the approval comes soon, What could sort of CAPEX expectations look like this year then?

I mean, I think for the full FID decision, that's going to depend on getting environmental permits in place, which is really a 2027 event. I think the RIGI will help in terms of catalyzing or accelerating that potential permitting process. But there are things that we can start to look at in order to accelerate stage two, but these would be fairly immaterial CapEx expenditures in 2026. Okay, great. Thanks for that.

I'll pass it on.

Your next question comes from the line of Joel Jackson with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, Morgan. It's Evan for Joel. Thanks for taking my question. Just wanted to discuss some of the puts and takes on the pricing discounts this year. So I know there's VAT and the quality discount. And do you mind kind of discussing how that flow throughout the year? And maybe if that's already steady state, what we're seeing in Q1?

Yeah, I mean, for Q1, you know, what we disclosed was the We're taking a 6% to 7% discount from reference prices. So these are reference prices stripped of Chinese VAT. I think looking ahead, there's room for improvement here. The consistency of our product continues to improve. The product quality also evolves. So I think there is room to improve on what we had in Q1 throughout the rest of the year. And certainly as we move into 2027, we've talked a lot about this in the past. The objective of our partner and ourselves is to be able to supply lithium chemicals directly to customers without going through China and therefore being able to capture kind of the full spot price. So I think you can, you know, from modeling assumptions, I think the 6% to 7% discount from reference price, you know, there is room throughout the year for that to improve.

Okay, thanks. Just a second one. You spoke of your progress on phase two with 3D expected soon. Anything new on PPG or is that a little similar as is embossed update?

Yeah, you know, I think we're making significant progress on advancing, you know, options, which we have many, to unlock value for this project. including potentially bringing in a minority partner. It's a bit premature at this point to provide specific timing around that event, but we would hope to provide more color mid-year, probably around the same time when we're providing updates on Stage 2 development plans. But just as a reminder, we have made the submission for the RIGI for the PPG project, which will be an important catalyst Permits for phase one, the first 50,000 ton development plan, which will start in Pesuelos, have been secured. So it's just, you know, working with Ganfang, not necessarily rushing the decision, but ensuring that we make the best decision for shareholders that maximizes value and provides kind of the foundational capital required to fund the stage one CapEx.

Your next question comes from the line of Corinne Blanchard with Deutsche Bank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning, Sam. Good morning, Kelly. Maybe first, can you guys talk about lithium pricing? I mean, obviously, you got a good inflation point for this quarter. And I think if you look at spot price and lithium futures even a few days ago, That would imply to see another big jump in 2Q and probably 3Q, but it would be great to hear where do you think that can go to for idea in the next, you know, two, three quarters.

I mean, predicting short-term moves in lithium prices is a challenging business, as you know. You know, I think the read-through we get from our partner, who obviously have a a tremendous amount of kind of insights and touch points within China as the market is extremely tight. So, yeah, I mean, pricing has continued to climb pretty aggressively since, you know, Q1 and our realized pricing. So, you know, we feel pretty strongly that that market will continue to, the market demand will continue to support these higher prices in terms of, you know, where it reaches. I'm reluctant to provide that kind of, granular forecast, but we feel very, very good about Q2, obviously, and throughout the rest of this year.

Thank you. And then maybe for a second question, can you talk about, I think you mentioned wanting to be doing the ASX inclusion. Is that the only index that you're thinking of, maybe for a secondary listing, or are you thinking anywhere in Asia, like Hong Kong or Seoul?

I mean, I think, yeah, we've looked at all different avenues to try and broaden our visibility globally. And, you know, I think the ASX has emerged as one of the strongest areas, I think, for lithium producers like Lithium Argentina. I think it's a market that appreciates free cash flow and the cost profile of brines. Um, and it's also kind of taken notice of larger mining companies moving into Argentina and the change of the risk profile there. So, yeah, I mean, I think the ASX does stand out. Um, we obviously have no plans to, to get rid of the New York stock exchange listing. Um, but think the ASX could be useful as we spend more time in, in Asia Pacific and Australia. And just, you know, on the ASX, you know, we're advancing a plan. It could have us listed there as early as mid-year. But we should note that this is a secondary listing, and we're certainly not planning for any IPO or financing associated with this listing plan. But from all our research, it does indicate that the ASX would be very supportive of a company like Lithium Argentina and the low-cost brine profile that we would provide the investors there.

Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Ishan Jain with HSBC. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Thanks for taking my questions. Great set of numbers. Just following up on your listing plan in Australia. So what I understand is is not for the funding or financing the next leg of growth probably, but to improve I'll say the investor interest or given broadening the access. Is that the correct assumption?

That's the correct assumption, yeah.

And secondly, on the cost side, you did highlight your long-term target is of $5,400 a turn cost. So is there scope of further improvement in this target? Should we expect it to further lower costs from the current levels?

I mean, $5,400 was a number that we put out at the beginning of the year to reflect our existing cost structure at nameplate capacity, so at $40,000 per ton. I think we're obviously very comfortable in that assumption, given that Q1 costs came in slightly below that or in line with that, even at 96.8% operating capacity. I mean, I think there is opportunities longer term for us to look at ways to bring costs down. Those probably come from elements of continuing to improve recoveries, continue to optimize the plant. But at this stage, given 5,400 was kind of a number we put out at the beginning of the year based on our existing cost structure, I think we'll stick to that. But with the caveat that, of course, especially working with our partner, we're always looking for ways to bring down costs. And I think we're very comfortable with what we put out, you know, just a few months ago in terms of where long-term costs would be. And that, you know, that happened very quickly.

Your next question comes from the line of Mac Whale with ATB Cormark. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hey, Sam, you gave some indication for current prices, what the EBITDA looks like. In terms of the pricing, is that with the VAT off of that reference pricing and still a discount? What's the basis on pricing for that?

Yeah, that's right. So that reference price, the 20 to 30 is like X VAT.

Okay. but then you're just putting in that price and you're assuming there's no further discount in terms of generating those numbers. I just want to make sure I'm modeling.

No, that would be assumed discount as well.

Okay. Can you also remind us how the royalty payment works? It seems higher than I'm modeling. I just wanted to check that I've got that correct. It's based off like a gross profit number, less depreciation. Is that correct, like some percentage of that?

That's broadly correct, but maybe I'll turn it over to Alex to provide a little bit more detail.

Yeah, sure. Mark, so we have several taxes, royalties. We have export tax, lesser fund, and we have provincial royalties. which are the kind of larger parts of what kind of goes below C1 cost. If you take, for example, export tax, then that's revenue minus certain expenses like temporary imports for some of the reagents. And that's net of export refunds approximately 2.87%, 2.9%. So that's kind of connected to revenue. That's why it jumped up as well, right? And then in terms of provincial royalties, that is 3% of revenue minus C1 cost, less certain deductions, if I were to put it in a simple way.

So I guess if we were to look at pricing, like this $12.5 million on... selling duties and royalties are kind of a bunch lumped in there. Some, I guess, is sort of more fixed, but I'm just trying to figure out how.

There's a fixed part, and that's a percentage of revenue, and there's a part that is a fixed deduction from that. So, yeah, it's a bit of a combination, but a significant portion is connected to revenue. That's why it jumps up.

So when we, if we're trying to come up with an EBITDA number at the Couch Area All-Rise level, that should all be negative to EBITDA, right? So if we, there should be nothing in there that's not, that we would take out of EBITDA, would there, or add back?

No, because all of this we include in EBITDA, right? So this expert taxes, expert funds, all of this is already deducted from EBITDA.

Okay. Okay, so we should be looking at all things being equal. That level, there isn't any one-time stuff in there. It should be kind of trending higher as pricing rises.

Yes, that's right.

Yeah, okay. Okay, just a few of those sort of housekeeping questions. Thanks, guys.

Your next question comes from the line of Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi Simon, Tim and thanks for taking my question and congrats on the strong numbers in a quarter. You reported pretty good cost in Q1 and appreciate your commentary on the long term cost there. I was just wondering if you could maybe provide us some power on inflation seen in country and potential effect impact. It seems like you you've been managing to offset most of that through your operational improvements, but any color would be useful there. Thank you.

Um? Inflationary pressures, I think obviously diesel prices globally have gone up. Argentina is not immune. Luckily for us, direct oil and gas diesel costs are less than 3% of our OPEX. There will be some inflation there, but it is a very immaterial piece of our cost structure. um in terms of wages yeah i mean there's constantly kind of fluctuations in terms of how inflation is running versus devaluation and the impact on kind of like the the dollar equivalent cost of peso labor expenses um but again those are you know those are somewhat manageable and and not all that material so we we feel very good um about you know our cost profile and and kind of our insulation against kind of broader inflationary uh trends globally

Great, thank you. Just on the ASX listing, maybe I know you clarified no plan on removing the New York Stock Exchange. What are you thinking around the TSX? Is that something else up for debate or how do you look at that listing? Thank you.

I mean, yeah, we're evaluating just kind of the puts and takes of obviously the Australian listing, which I think as I described, you know, it seems to be a market that that would be uh you know supportive of of bringing on kind of a brine exposure which is you know something that is that is unique not not wouldn't just be unique to the asx but i think really in terms of you know pure play equity exposures um in the brine space it's uh it's a pretty limited pool of options that investors globally have so you know i think without a doubt the asx would make a lot of sense um yeah i think it's you know it's too early to commit to whether you know we would consider uh Dropping the TSX, we have to weigh pros and cons, and so we'll make that determination and provide further updates in the months to come.

Great. Thank you.

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. This does conclude today's call. Thank you very much for attending, and you may now disconnect.