The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price had a month to forget in November.
Over the period, the lithium miner's shares lost over 16% of their value.
This left them trading within a whisker of a two-year low and down a disappointing 40% year to date.
Image source: Getty Images
Why did the Pilbara Minerals share price crash?
Investors were hitting the sell button in November for a couple of reasons.
One was the release of an update at the very end of October which had a lasting impact on investor sentiment.
Pilbara Minerals revealed that during the first quarter of FY 2025, its revenue fell 31% over the prior corresponding period to $210 million. This was driven by a combination of softer production, weaker sales volumes, and another sizeable decline in realised prices.
And with its costs rising during the quarter, it is quite likely that its profitability suffered greatly.
In fact, a sign of how bad things are getting for the company can be seen in the actions that management is taking.
Pilbara Minerals and Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) have put their Mid-Stream Demonstration Plant Project on hold during to current market conditions. The project, which is 60% complete, will be paused until market conditions are supportive or further government support for project continuation can be secured.
Other action being taken is the Ngungaju plant being placed into temporary care and maintenance from 1 December and the Pilgangoora Operation being optimised. The latter means that following the ramp up of the P1000 Project, it is expected to have a standalone production capacity of ~850kt per annum (P850).
The knock-on effect of this is that the company now expects production of 700kt to 740kt in FY 2025, which is down from its guidance of 800kt to 840kt.
What else?
Also weighing on the Pilbara Minerals share price was ongoing weakness in the lithium industry.
It certainly wasn't alone with its sizeable decline. Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares lost 12% of their value and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares dropped 17%.
With lithium prices continuing to remain subdued and showing no signs of improving in the near term, especially with concerns over African supply flooding the market, investors have been heading to the exits in their droves.
They appear to be moving onto other areas of the share market, which is understandable given how global markets are leaving the lithium industry behind and scaling new heights.
