RARE earth producer Lynas Corp registered a plunge in its half-year profits for 2018, with the company citing “difficult regulatory and market conditions” as the main reason for the poor showing, reported the Australian Financial Review.

Net profit in the six months ended December 31 fell 63% to A$19 million (RM55.26 million) from A$50.8 million in the same period the year before.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 39% to A$50.8 million from A$83 million in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

The statement also noted that revenue fell 10.5% year-on-year to A$180 million from A$200.9 million, and dividends have not been paid or proposed.

In December, the company temporarily shut down production at its plant in Kuantan after failing to secure government approval for an increase in annual production.

Lynas’ key products, neodymium and praseodymium, are used in the manufacture of industrial magnets, which are used extensively by makers of goods such as electronics and cars.

But the biggest challenge facing the company remains the order by Putrajaya to remove 450,000 metric tonnes of radioactive waste, or water leach purification (WLP) reside, out of the country by September as a requirement for the renewal of the plant’s operating license.

Lynas had appealed this decision but provided no update on its status today, said the report.

“The company is engaged in ongoing discussions with the government to seek to resolve the remaining issues related to WLP,” Lynas said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

Despite the drop in its second-half 2018 earnings and profits, Lynas chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze noted that the results were well above the A$11 million projected by UBS analyst Daniel Morgan and CLSA analyst Dylan Kelly yesterday. – February 28, 2019.