The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is on course to end the shortened week with a solid gain.
In morning trade, the lithium miner's shares charged to a record high of $14.27.
The Allkem share price has since pulled back but currently remains up 3% to $13.67.
Why did the Allkem share price hit a record high today?
Investors have been bidding the Allkem share price today after the lithium miner delivered a record-breaking third quarter update.
For the three months ended 31 March, the company reported group revenue of US$235 million and a group gross operating cash margin of US$189 million.
This was driven by record revenue generation and high margins from its Mt Cattlin and Olaroz operations.
In respect to Mt Cattlin, it produced 48,562 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate and shipped 66,011 tonnes. Combined with average pricing of US$2,178 per dmt, this led to the Mt Cattlin operation generating record revenue of US$143.8 million.
It was equally positive over at Allkem's Olaroz Lithium Facility. It produced 2,972 tonnes of lithium carbonate with sales of 3,157 tonnes during the quarter. And with Olaroz commanding US$27,236 per tonne for its lithium carbonate, the operation reported record revenue of ~US$86 million.
Pleasingly, management expects both Mt Cattlin and Olaroz to benefit from even higher lithium prices during the fourth quarter. As a result, the records set during this quarter are likely to be broken again in three months.
Is it too late to invest?
The team at Citi don't believe it is too late to invest. The broker has put a buy rating and $16.00 price target on the company's shares.
Based on the current Allkem share price, this implies potential upside of 17% for investors over the next 12 months.
It notes that "AKE's strategy is to leverage its portfolio to maintain 10% market share and be a top three global producer."
