March 5 (Reuters) - Chile's SQM, the world's second-largest lithium producer, reported a 40.9% fall in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, as higher sales volumes failed to offset a sharp decline in lithium prices.
The miner, which also produces fertilizers and industrial chemicals, reported net profit of $120.1 million, or 42 cents a share for the October-December period, compared to $205.9 million a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a net profit of $130.95 million, or 52 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
SQM's revenue of $1.07 billion was marginally ahead of $1 billion expected by analysts. However, the results were impacted by prices of lithium, which have fallen more than 80% in two years.
SQM will discuss results with analysts on Wednesday at 1600 GMT.
Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Varun H K
Source: Reuters