Pilbara Minerals CEO Ken Brinsden plans to exit the company by the end of the year. Credit: Matt Jelonek/Matt Jelonek/The West Australian
Ken Brinsden, the man who has shepherded Pilbara Minerals through the ups and downs of the global lithium market, has revealed he intends to leave the company by the end of the year.
The bombshell announcement came as Pilbara unveiled an inaugural interim profit of $114 million thanks to surging demand and rising prices for the commodity.
The company on Wednesday reported it had shipped 170,228 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the first half of the year, a 49 per cent increase on the prior corresponding period, and achieved record revenue of $291.7m thanks to buoyant market conditions.
Mr Brinsden said he believed it was the right time for him to step back after seven years in the role as chief executive, citing plans to spend more time with his family and pursue personal interests after a long career in senior roles.
“After many exhilarating and, at times, challenging years at the helm of Pilbara Minerals, the company is now in an excellent position with a strong balance sheet, strong cash-generating capacity from our flagship asset and an exciting suite of growth projects,” he said.
“It has been an absolute privilege to lead Pilbara Minerals from its days as a start-up lithium explorer, and one of the trail-blazers of the sector, to become what it is today — an ASX-100 company with a wonderful culture, an incredible team of hard-working people and a clear vision to become a leader in the clean energy materials space.”
Pilbara said the interim profit reflected continued improvement in lithium market conditions over the period, which has continued its strong momentum into the current half. It also came despite plant challenges and WA’s resource skills crisis as border restrictions make it harder to fill in-demand roles.
It was underpinned by an operating gross margin from the Pilgan operation of $172.1m, compared to $13.2m a year earlier, as it realised $US1250/t for its product. It also noted some reporting agencies were indicating spot spodumene concentrate prices of between $US3750 and $US4500/t.
Mr Brinsden said the result marked a milestone for Pilbara “to become one of the world’s leading suppliers of lithium raw materials”.
“Our financial performance for the period is a direct reflection of the incredible turnaround which has been experienced in the lithium raw materials supply chain over the past year or so,” he said.
“The combination of strong underlying demand growth and Pilbara Minerals’ ability to create a transparent spot price outcome via the Battery Material Exchange has driven very strong increases in prices for our product.
“I am very proud of the efforts of the entire Pilbara Minerals team in striving to capitalise on these fantastic market conditions.”
Pilbara’s board said it had started the search for the company’s next chief executive.
Chairman Tony Kiernan described Mr Brinsden as “an inspirational leader”.
“He has led the company through both a challenging period and overseeing a number of strategic initiatives that have set us up for long-term growth,” Mr Kiernan said.
“These included a pivotal debt refinancing and the acquisition of the neighbouring Altura Lithium operation.
“As a result of these measures and the remarkable turnaround in the lithium market, Pilbara Minerals is now firmly established on a strong growth trajectory that will see it become one of the world’s leading suppliers of lithium raw materials.“
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