Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) shares have staged a sharp pullback after the company pulled its sales guidance on a key commodity.
The company's shares were trading 13.9% lower at $7.14 in early trade on Friday, after more than doubling over the past three months.
Iluka said in a statement to the ASX that it was withdrawing its guidance for sales of synthetic rutile, in part because of uncertainty about an agreement to sell the commodity to a customer in the UK.
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Sales deal up in the air
The Australian company has a deal in place to sell rutile to Venator Materials UK Ltd (OTC: VNTR.F), which owns a titanium dioxide manufacturing site at Greatham in the UK.
But Venator has agreed to sell that site to Chinese company LB Group Co Ltd (SHE: 002601), whose plans for the site are ambiguous, Iluka said.
As it told the ASX in a statement:
LB's announcement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange suggests that Greatham is idled and may remain in a shutdown state in accordance with the requirements of the agreement until completion.
Iluka said it was contracted to supply substantial amounts of rutile to Venator in 2026 and 2027, however, the fate of these sales appears to be up in the air, with Iluka saying it "has not received any notice from Venator regarding its obligations to purchase synthetic rutile from Iluka in relation to the sale or idling of its Greatham facility and associated assets''.
General economic malaise bites
Sales of rutile to other customers were also being affected by general economic uncertainty globally, Iluka said.
The company has noted previously the impact of global economic uncertainty on demand conditions in the pigment market, which is the primary consumer of synthetic rutile. Iluka is in discussions with customers regarding their offtake obligations, as well as the challenges they face and how these might be accommodated in a manner that is mutually beneficial.
Iluka said it was taking appropriate steps to safeguard its contractual rights, but that "a potential outcome of these discussions is a rebalancing of some customer obligations over 2025 and 2026''.
Iluka said the pigment market in particular had remained weak, "with North American markets experiencing a prolonged downturn since 2022''.
In parallel to this period of subdued demand, a number of broader industry developments are currently playing out. These include a strategic review by a major feedstock producer (Rio Tinto); zircon production halts in Indonesia; shuttering of pigment plant capacity; and the ongoing impacts of tariffs and anti-dumping duties.
Global ceramic tile production had also continued to decline in 2025, the company said, with China leading the contraction due to weakness in its real estate market.
