A dump truck moves raw ore inside the pit at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California, U.S., on Friday, June 7, 2019.
Joe Buglewicz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
MP Materials‘ stock surged on Friday after the miner narrowed its losses in the second quarter on record production of a key rare earth oxide, raising hopes among investors that the company is moving toward profitability after a big investment by the Defense Department.
Shares of MP were more than 6% in morning trading.
MP booked an adjusted loss of $21.37 million, or 13 cents per share, down 24% compared to $28 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Its sales jumped 84% to $57.4 million compared to $31.3 million in second quarter of 2024.
The miner produced a record amount of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide in the quarter. NdPr is the main raw material in permanent magnets that are used in electric vehicle motors, robotics and electronics. MP produced 597 metric tons of NdPr in the second quarter, a 119% increase over last year.
MP is currently in the process of ramping up magnet production at its Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The facility will supply magnets to General Motors for its electric vehicles as well as other manufacturers.
“The next step is transferring this capability from trial production to scale production,” CEO James Litinsky said on MP’s earnings call Thursday evening. “Commissioning at the factory is accelerating. Momentum is building as we progress toward commercial magnet production later this year.”
MP’s second quarter results come after the company announced two transformative deals last month.
The Defense Department agreed to purchase $400 million of the company’s preferred stock, making the federal government MP’s largest shareholder. The Pentagon also set a price floor for NdPr and agreed to buy 100% of the offtake from a new magnet facility that MP will build.
Days later, MP announced that Apple will invest $500 million in its production through the purchase of rare earth magnets and will help launch a rare earth recycling facility.