FIRST QUARTER 2024 HIGHLIGHTS ($ USD) Strengthened commercial position in May, achieving a premium price of USD $1,290/t, at a fixed formula of 9% of lithium hydroxide quoted at LME, delivering: 11% price increase from April 25% price increase from 1Q24 realized sales price (USD $930/t or $1,035/t on a 6% basis) Revenues from volumes of Quintuple Zero High Purity Lithium Concentrate sold in 1Q totaled $49.1 million.  Sales volumes totaled 52,857/t Production volumes totaled 54,168/t Reduced reported cash cost by 16% from 4Q23, approaching 3Q cost guidance: FOB cash costs of $462/t (guidance $420/t) Cash costs at industrial plant gate averaging $397/t (guidance of $370/t) Robust 1Q24 EBITDA margins:  35.3% margins on pro forma EBITDA(3) of $17.4 million, generated by business conducted in 1Q24. 15.8% margins on reported 1Q adjusted EBITDA of $5.9 million. Board of Directors made a Final Investment Decision to build a second Greentech Industrial Plant that will increase production capacity to 520,000/t of Quintuple Zero Green Lithium from the current 270,000 t/year. Extended operational life to 25 years at the Company's 100% owned Grota do Cirilo industrial-mineral complex at an industrial throughput of 520,000 t/year:  Increase of 40% in proven and probable mineral reserves to 77 million tonnes (from 54.8 million tonnes). Conference Call Information The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results for the first quarter at 12:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 16, 2023. Participating on the call will be Co-Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Ana Cabral. To register for the call, please proceed through the following link Register here. For access to the webcast, please Click here. SAO PAULO, May 16, 2024 /CNW/ -- SIGMA Lithium Corporation ("Sigma Lithium" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:SGML, TSXV:SGML, BVMF: S2GM34)), a leading global lithium producer dedicated to powering the next generation of electric vehicles with carbon neutral, responsibly sourced chemical grade lithium concentrate, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. The Quarterly Filings and accompanying Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") are available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), EDGAR (www.sec.gov) and the Company's corporate website. Ana Cabral, Co-Chairperson and CEO said: "During 2024, Sigma has delivered on several key milestones aimed at doubling industrial capacity by 2025. We made the final investment decision to initiate construction of a second Greentech plant, and we extended operational life to 25 years at Grota do Cirilo by increasing our audited proven and probable mineral reserve by 40%. Our entire team is focused on the execution of this industrial and mineral capacity expansion, repeating the success of Phase 1 by delivering this second stage of operational growth on time and on budget." She added: "Operationally, our team has been progressing consistently towards achieving robust cash flow generation for 2024. We continue to premiunize the price of our Quintuple Zero Green Lithium, increasing May prices by 11% from April, and a nearly 30% from the 1Q24 average realized prices. We reduced reported cash cost by 16% vs 4Q23, approaching guidance. Key Performance Metrics for Quarter Ended 31 March 2024 ($ USD) Unit 1Q24 4Q23 Concentrate Produced tonnes 54,168 59,938 Concentrate Grade Produced % 5.4 % 5.3 % Concentrate Sold tonnes 52,857 64,670 Reported Revenue $ 000s 37,202 37,688 Average Reported Selling Price $/t 704 583 Revenue for Business Conducted in 1Q $ 000s 49,141 67,500 Average Realized Selling Price in 1Q $/t 930 1,067 Unit Operating Cost (1) $/t 397 478 Adjusted EBITDA (2) $ 000s 5,878 1,295 Net Income $ 000s (6,962) (9,500) Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 000s 108,191 48,584   Sigma Lithium made two full shipments of its Quintuple Zero Green Lithium concentrate during the first quarter as the March shipment was concluded in the first week of April. Sales were supplemented by an additional sale to Glencore AG of volumes at port totalling 8,700/t at the end of the quarter. Revenues associated with volumes sold in the first quarter totaled $49 million, implying a realized FOB sales price of $930/t. Reported revenues for the first quarter totaled $37.2 million (C$50.4 million). Provisional price adjustments reduced 1Q24 revenues by USD $12 million, an improvement from the $30 million price adjustment in 4Q23, as lithium concentrate prices turned upward after the Lunar New Year. Cash unit operating costs(1) for lithium concentrate produced at the Company's Grota do Cirilo operations in the first quarter averaged USD $397/t. The 4Q cash cost FOB Vitoria (which includes transportation and port charges) averaged USD $462/t (or $483/t with royalties). This is a nearly 16% improvement from the reported FOB costs in 4Q23 and is an important step to meeting Company cost targets of $370/t plant gate and $420/t FOB. Sigma Lithium has already seen an improvement in its cost structure given productivity actions taken, and notes that production at the processing plant was the primary hinderance to achieving guided costs during the first quarter. The Company reiterates its expectation to achieve guidance within 2Q24 for 3Q average realization. The Company delivered first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $5.9 million (C$8.1 million), reflecting a margin of 15.8%. Reported EBITDA for the first quarter totaled $3.1 million (C$4.3 million). This number includes $0.5 million (C$0.7 million) of non-recurring expenditures, including those associated with the strategic review, and $2.3 million (C$3.1 million) in non-cash stock-based compensation expenses. 1Q24 results had a $12 million provisional price adjustment to revenues resulting from shipments in the 4Q23.  Without this provisional price adjustment, the Company delivered a pro forma adjusted EBITDA for business conducted in 1Q24 of $17.4 million, implying a margin of more than 35%. Net income in the quarter was a loss of $7.0 million (C$9.3 million), or ($0.06) per diluted share outstanding. Operational Update and Phase 2 Expansion Lithium concentrate production in the first quarter totaled 54,168 tonnes, compared to the 59,938 tonnes produced in 4Q23. No single factor weighed materially on production, but it was impacted, in part, by holiday seasonality and fewer work days. Sigma maintained a delivery schedule of approximately 35 days. The Company has successfully continued to improve Greentech plant efficiency in 2024, and notes that production improved sequentially through the course of the first quarter. On April 1, 2024, the Board of Directors announced a Final Investment Decision ("FID") for the Company's Phase 2 Greentech Plant expansion. The project is expected to add 250,000 tonnes of production capacity to the current 270,000-tonne Phase 1 operation. Earthworks engineering is ongoing. Building and commissioning are expected to occur within 12 months of the FID announcement, with the first commercial production expected in 2Q25. The total expected capex for the Phase 2 construction is $100 million (C$136 million), and the Company has already secured all relevant environmental licenses to build and operate the second Greentech Plant.  Ninth Shipment Scheduled for the week of May 20 The Company is also announcing today that it has finalized pricing discussions for its ninth shipment of Quintuple Zero Green Lithium concentrate scheduled for the week of May 20th. The 22,000/t shipment will be priced at the formula of 9% of the LME/Fastmarkets lithium hydroxide benchmark, implying $1,290/t at today's market ($1,459/tonne gross of VAT). The current value of the May shipment reflects an 11% price increase over the Company's eighth shipment in April, where the $1,160/tonne secured price was equivalent to 8.75% of the LME/Fastmarkets Lithium Hydroxide prices. A similar price discovery process was followed through closed private bidding for the fixed portion of the price formula, though the final economics will depend on LME/ Fastmarkets lithium hydroxide benchmark at one month after the landing of the shipment. Sigma Lithium will continue to adapt its marketing strategy to maximize the commercial value of its premium Quintuple Zero Green Lithium Sigma Lithium Commercial Director Catarina Noci, stated: "The economics for our May shipment represent a continuation in the market recovery that started in the days following the Lunar New Year. Indications from the market point to a firm outlook for lithium concentrate as we enter the price discovery process for our next shipment in June. Demand for our Quintuple Zero Green Lithium continues to be robust as a result of its superior chemical properties and coarse particles. We will evolve our pricing strategy to follow market dynamics in order to capture as much as possible of the 20-30% cost savings embedded in the "value-in-use" we deliver to our downstream clients." Balance Sheet & Liquidity Sigma Lithium ended the first quarter with $108.2 million (C$146.4 million) in cash and cash ...