All eyes will be on the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price today after the company held its annual general meeting after market close on Thursday.
At the meeting, Pilbara chairman Anthony Kiernan hailed shareholders who "stayed the course". All resolutions presented at the meeting were passed.
The Pilbara Minerals share price has risen 53% in the year to date. However, it has lost nearly 11% in the past week amid a turbulent week for ASX lithium shares.
Shareholders have been 'rewarded'
In a speech to shareholders, Kiernan recalled in 2020 he urged shareholders to "keep the faith" when the lithium industry was "experiencing a very difficult period — with the promise that better times lay ahead".
He continued: "It is gratifying to see that those who stayed the course and heeded that advice have been rewarded…"
Pilbara is expecting to pay its maiden dividend from FY23, as my Foolish colleague James reported this week. Management plans to pay 20% to 30% of its free cash flow.
Commenting on the dividend, Kiernan said:
It will be a great source of pride for the board and management to be able to return value to Pilbara Minerals' shareholders, some of whom have stuck by the Company during the highs and the lows.
Rising lithium demand
Pilbara believes it is in a good position to capitalise on rising lithium demand due to key investments in the last 12 months.
This includes the demonstration plant with Calix, P680 expansion project, and JV project with POSCO.
Pilbara said it is working towards making a final investment decision on the P1000 project. If approved, this will lift production capacity to up to one million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of spodumene concentrate.
Commenting on lithium demand, Kiernan said:
The lithium demand is being driven by the growing use of lithium-ion batteries in clean energy technologies, in particular electrical vehicles.
A trend that is continuing to gather pace, supported by strong investment and decarbonisation targets set by governments across the world.
Pilbara expects the lithium deficit to be the equivalent of about "18 Pilgangooras" by 2040. Pilgangoora is Pilbara's 100%-owned lithium project in Western Australia.
Pilbara delivered net profit after tax (NPAT) for the first time in FY22 of $561.8 million. Revenue surged 577% to $1.2 billion.
Pilbara Minerals share price snapshot
The Pilbara Minerals share price has surged 102% in a year, while it has climbed 2.3% in the last month.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 3% in the last year.
Pilbara Minerals has a market capitalisation of about $14.7 billion based on the current share price.
