Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are tumbling into the red on Tuesday.
In morning trade, the lithium miner's shares are down 11% to $1.08.
Why are Liontown shares sinking?
The catalyst for today's decline has been the release of the company's quarterly update before the market open.
According to the release, Liontown produced 87,172 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate at an average grade of 5.0% Li2O during the three months.
This means its production was up 1% on the previous quarter, but its average grade was down 4%.
Despite its increased production, Liontown's concentrates sales declined heavily on the fourth quarter of FY 2025. It recorded concentrate sales of 77,474 dmt, down 20% from the previous quarter.
As a result, the company's revenue fell 29% in the first quarter to $68 million.
Costs increase
Also heading in the wrong direction were Liontown's costs. It reported a 22% lift in unit operating costs to $1,093 per dmt sold for the period. Management notes that this primarily reflects the drawdown of stockpiles with higher historical costs, which is in line with the mill feed strategy foreshadowed last quarter.
Unit costs are expected to trend lower through the year as throughput, recoveries, and operating efficiency improve as the operation transitions to steady-state underground production.
This ultimately led to Liontown recording a negative operating cash flow of $44 million for the three months.
But thanks to its recent capital raising, it finished the period with a cash balance of $420 million and 20,912 dmt of saleable concentrate on hand.
Liontown's managing director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano, was pleased with the quarter. He said:
The September quarter was one of execution and delivery against the expectations we set ourselves and disclosed to the market. Underground production continued to ramp up to plan, with our key operating milestones achieved. The capital raising and Ford debt facility and offtake amendments fortified our balance sheet and provided strategic flexibility, positioning Liontown strongly for the next phase of this transition year.
Ottaviano also spoke positively about the company's outlook. He adds:
With the open pit nearing completion and underground production scaling, we're entering the next phase at Kathleen Valley. As cleaner underground ore increasingly feeds the mill, recoveries will improve and we remain on track to meet our 70% lithia recovery target by the end of Q3 FY26. We've laid the foundations through FY25 and the early part of FY26. The focus from here is on continued execution, cost discipline, and unlocking the full performance of the Kathleen Valley operation.
