Charlotte, North Carolina [United States]: Albemarle Corp, the world's biggest producer of Lithium for the electric vehicle market, announced that its quarterly profits had far exceeded expectations on Wednesday. This extraordinary achievement can be attributed to a substantial increase in sales of the battery metal, which has multiplied fivefold.

Despite charging more than 300% higher prices for Lithium, Albemarle still reported positive results. This reflects the strong demand of automakers for additional supplies of this battery metal needed to build out fleets of fully electric vehicles.

Albemarle is raising the prices on Lithium by 55% this year, in accordance with its plan to keep long-term prices high and incentivize the development of new Lithium mines. This policy was outlined last month.

Albemarle, a company specializing in the production of Lithium products, has seen an aggressive marketing approach to leverage the resource beyond its primary auto market. This year they forecast that sales will experience a minimum of 30% growth from their 2022 levels. Their current range of Lithium-based products also include lubricants, glass, tires and other consumer goods.

"Our growth potential extends well beyond the current EV opportunity," Kent Masters, Albemarle's chief executive, stated in a statement.

The company published net income of $1.13 billion, or $9.60 per share, compared to a loss of $3.8 million, or 3 cents per share, in the previous year.

Albemarle Corporation recently announced its financial results for the quarter. Excluding one-time items, their earnings per share were $8.62, beating expectations of $8.28.

Albemarle, one of the leaders in the industry, recently received a huge grant from the White House. The $149.7 million grant will be used to build a Lithium processing facility in North Carolina, with the aim of helping to secure Albemarle's dominant role as the United States continues to build its own EV supply chain.