Sydney, Feb 26, 2026, 18:29 AEDT — Market closed.
- Lynas slipped back to finish 1.2% higher, after losing steam late in the session despite an early surge.
- Profit for the half-year jumped, driven by stronger sales volumes and higher prices. Still, the result came in below analysts’ expectations.
- Attention has shifted to power reliability at Kalgoorlie, and there’s also the question of rare-earth prices staying firm.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd finished Thursday’s session 1.2% higher at A$17.24, trimming an earlier rally after its half-year results landed. Roughly 7.9 million shares traded hands. Over the last two sessions, the stock has gained about 9%.
The result drops right as the rare-earths market is in flux. Prices have started shifting; supply chains remain politically charged. Lynas, still among the few major players outside China, often finds its figures used as a stand-in for the whole sector.
NdPr—industry shorthand for neodymium and praseodymium, essential to permanent magnets in electric motors and wind turbines—remains the main swing factor. A shift in the benchmark sparks changes in earnings and, just as quickly, the stock.
Lynas reported net profit after tax jumped to A$80.2 million for the six months to Dec. 31, a sharp increase from A$5.9 million a year prior. Revenue climbed to A$413.7 million, while EBITDA came in at A$152.4 million. CEO Amanda Lacaze described the half as “an exciting one,” pointing to the completion of the Mt Weld expansion and higher production volumes. The company also noted the China domestic NdPr price hit US$111.5/kg “yesterday.”
The headline beat, but there were cracks beneath the surface. Profit fell short of the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$91.8 million, and Lynas opted not to announce an interim dividend. Production at the Kalgoorlie site in Western Australia took a hit—and costs climbed—after power outages, according to Reuters.
Traders jumped on the initial earnings bounce, eager to buy, but soon started debating how long it would last. The session wrapped up feeling less like a clean break and more like a drawn-out standoff.
Lynas, in its investor materials, highlighted policy moves shaping both pricing and demand, citing the U.S. government’s offtake agreement with MP Materials that sets a US$110/kg NdPr price floor. The company noted Kalgoorlie’s power issues settled down from December, following remediation. Off-grid energy projects are still underway. CEO Amanda Lacaze, for her part, has indicated plans to retire when the current financial year wraps up.
Reg Spencer, metals and mining analyst at Canaccord Genuity Australia, flagged Lynas as “quite different from your typical mining company,” citing its integrated assets and the fact that it operates outside China. Mining Weekly
Here’s the risk: rare-earth prices are quick to whip around, and it doesn’t take much on the operations side for margins to start leaking. A new hiccup at Kalgoorlie, or just a slip in prices, would show whether this week’s gains owe more to actual fundamentals or simply to traders jockeying for position.
Friday’s focus is on Lynas: can shares hold their gains after results? Traders are eyeing whether management steadies Kalgoorlie’s operations, boosts output, and keeps realised pricing firm—even as benchmarks shift. Talk about the CEO handover stays on ice until the end-of-financial-year approaches.
