Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Atlantic Lithium , Crude Oil, EcoPro Materials, Nanoco Group PLC, SSH Group Ltd, TMC the metals co and more

• Livent (LTHM US)‘s CEO recently said, regarding its merger with Allkem Ltd (AKE AU), that while falling lithium prices put pressure on marginal producers, the sector’s fundamental outlook remains strong. 
• And so, another week goes by, and another lithium Offer Down Under unfolds. 
• African-Focused lithium play Atlantic Lithium (A11 AU) announced this morning it has twice rejected Offers from South African-based Assore International, its major shareholder.  Shares spiked 43% on the news.

• Crack spread refers to the gross processing margin of refining (“cracking”) crude oil into its by-products.
• Crack spreads are affected by seasonality, supply, and inventory levels of crude and refined products, as well as demand for each refined product.
• A low-demand outlook for refined products of crude is prevalent due to expectations of an economic slowdown.

• EcoPro Materials (ECO123 KS) raised around US$320m, after downsizing the deal and pricing its IPO at the low end of the range at KRW36,200/share.
• Ecopro Materials (EPM) manufactures and sells high-nickel precursors, one of the key materials for high-nickel cathode materials for secondary (rechargeable) batteries.
• In this note, we will talk about the demand for the deal and other trading dynamics.

Nanoco’s announcement that it has fulfilled its first commercial order heralds the company’s transition from a development-stage company to a commercial supplier of quantum materials. The order provides support for our FY24 forecasts and is a key milestone on the company’s pathway towards becoming self-financing in FY25, with the potential to scale up significantly beyond that, if design wins in high-volume sensing applications can be secured.

• SSH Group (ASX:SSH) is a labour and equipment hire business operating predominantly in Western Australia with a focus on the key growth sectors of construction, resources, and energy.
• SSH listed in September 2021, issuing 31.25m shares at $0.20/share to raise $6.25m, along with the issue of 20.5m shares to the vendors of a labour-hire group of companies, Site Services.
• In May 2022, SSH acquired equipment hire group KMH for $15m or 3.9x FY21 EBITDA. 

• 3Q23 results showcase management’s focus. TMC reported 3Q23 results that included solid cost control as G&A expenses declined to $4.6 million and operating loss was reduced to $12.5 million for the quarter versus the $28.6 million loss in the year-ago period.
• Liquidity to cover operating and capital costs. With $22.5 million of cash on hand as of September 2023 and with the infusion of the $25 million in equity raise (inclusive of $9 million to be received by the end of 2023), in addition to the $25 million undrawn unsecured credit facility from Allseas, TMC has the liquidity and capital tools it needs to submit the provisional application to the ISA in 2H24.
• The company continues to work on securing more strategic funding to ensure sufficient liquidity to get into production once the exploitation application has been submitted.