Lithium carbonate prices in China rose from RMB 270,000 per ton at the beginning of the year to about RMB 470,000 per ton at the end of the second quarter in the first half.

As the electric vehicle industry grows rapidly, raw material producers are among the biggest beneficiaries.

Tianqi Lithium reported revenue of RMB 14.3 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) in the first half of the year, up 508 percent from a year earlier, the Chinese lithium giant said in a financial report released Tuesday.

The increase was mainly due to higher selling prices and sales of the company's main lithium products compared with the same period a year earlier, Tianqi said.

The company reported a net profit of RMB 10.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 119 times from a year earlier. Its net profit after non-recurring gains and losses for the period was RMB 9.3 billion, up 479 times year-on-year.

In the second quarter, Tianqi's revenue was RMB 9 billion, up 524.7 percent year-on-year and up 71.9 percent from the first quarter.

Its net profit in the second quarter reached RMB 7 billion, up 1,997 percent year-on-year and 110 percent from the first quarter.

After excluding non-recurring gains and losses, Tianqi's net profit in the second quarter reached RMB 6.4 billion, up 3,516 percent year-on-year and 127.5 percent from the first quarter.

The company's lithium compound products business generated operating revenue of RMB 9.8 billion in the first half of the year, up 560.73 percent year-on-year and accounting for 68.75 percent of total revenue, with a gross margin up 40.86 percentage points to 87.54 percent.

Robust demand driving sales volume as well as rising prices were the main reasons for the rapid growth of this business.

Lithium carbonate prices in China rose from RMB 270,000 per ton at the beginning of the year to about RMB 470,000 per ton at the end of the second quarter in the first half, an increase of about 74 percent.

The company's lithium mining business generated operating revenue of RMB4.5 billion in the first half, up 417.7 percent year-on-year and accounting for 31.24 percent of total revenue.

The price of lithium concentrate in China rose from $2,150 per ton at the beginning of the year to about $5,000 per ton at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 130 percent.

Tianqi was listed in Hong Kong on July 13, raising net proceeds of about HK$13.1 billion. The company had already been listed in Shenzhen in 2010.

Despite the company's surge in first-half earnings, its shares traded slightly lower in Shenzhen and Hong Kong today, along with overall market weakness.

Tianqi was down 1.2 percent in Shenzhen by the close of trading. Its shares traded in Hong Kong were down 2.31 percent as of press time.

China imports lithium carbonate in July at about 10 times price of same month last year