Altius Minerals TSE: ALS reported higher first-quarter royalty revenue and adjusted earnings as the company integrated its Lithium Royalty Corp. acquisition and highlighted accelerating growth in its electricity and lithium royalty businesses.
On the company’s Q1 2026 conference call, Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Hussey said Altius posted net earnings of CAD 2.6 million, or CAD 0.05 per share. Royalty revenue was CAD 27 million, while adjusted EBITDA was CAD 20 million. Hussey said the results reflected higher realized prices, the timing of copper stream deliveries, increased electricity royalty revenue and the addition of four operating lithium royalties. Those gains were partly offset by lower dividends from iron ore.
Adjusted net earnings were CAD 0.11 per share, up from Q1 2025. Hussey said the main adjusting item was non-recurring costs tied to the closing of the Lithium Royalty Corp. transaction.
Lithium Royalty acquisition adds operating exposure
Altius completed its acquisition of Lithium Royalty Corp. on March 6 through a plan of arrangement. The consideration included 9.6 million Altius shares and CAD 140 million in cash. Hussey also noted that Altius had previously advanced a $14 million loan to LRC after the transaction was announced in December.
Brian Dalton, Altius’ chief executive officer, said lithium prices have doubled since the acquisition was announced and have “confirmed a cyclical upwards turn” from the lows of 2025. He said the higher prices are having a positive impact on the four currently operating lithium royalties in the portfolio.
Dalton said lithium demand continues to compound rapidly and appears to be accelerating rather than slowing, with demand sources broadening beyond electric vehicles. He pointed specifically to the increased pairing of battery storage with renewable power plants.
Dalton said market deficits for lithium have reemerged faster than expected, creating the need for significant new supply. He said some estimates call for new supply equal to three times current production levels within 10 years.
Altius also pointed to multiple project-level developments across its lithium portfolio. Dalton said the operators of Tres Quebradas, Mariana, Goulamina and Grota do Cirilo have either initiated or confirmed plans to proceed with Phase II expansions. He also said Finniss has closed financing and plans to restart operations later this year, while Neves has begun awarding contracts to begin construction.
In response to a question from TD Securities analyst Ernad Sijercic, Ernie Ortiz, Altius’ vice president of corporate development and head of lithium, said the company is seeing discounts to lithium spot pricing begin to narrow. Ortiz said pricing may improve in the second and third quarters because of momentum in the market and the normal lag in pricing adjustments.
Electricity royalties continue to ramp
Dalton devoted much of his prepared remarks to Altius’ electricity royalty exposure, which is held through its shareholding in Altius Renewable Royalties and its effective 29% interest in Great Bay Royalties. He said quarterly revenue from the business has begun to accelerate and take on greater significance within Altius’ diversified portfolio.
Great Bay Royalties was co-founded by Altius in 2019 with Frank Getman and his team in New Hampshire. Dalton said the goal was to bring the royalty finance model to the renewable electricity generation sector, and he said the model has now been adopted by the market.
Dalton said Great Bay has built its royalty platform through two primary approaches: direct royalty investments in late-development and operating-stage projects, and backing earlier-stage developers in exchange for royalties on projects they ultimately sell to power plant operators.
According to Dalton, current capital conditions have made late-stage and operating project investments more attractive than they were several years ago. He said competing sources of capital have become more subdued, even as power demand has strengthened across much of the U.S. He cited new data center demand as an additional source of pressure on the sector.
Dalton said Great Bay expects 2026 to be one of its most significant years for new royalty investment deployment, with almost all current activity focused on late-stage opportunities.
The developer-backed portion of the portfolio is also beginning to mature. Dalton said five projects in the portfolio are now under construction, including projects that originated with Tri Global Energy before it was acquired by Enbridge.
Dalton also described ancillary deal structures that Great Bay has added over time, including hybrid equity exposure and rights to share in project sale proceeds. He said milestone payments from project sales could generate as much as CAD 100 million over the next three to four years, though he later clarified in the Q&A that these amounts are not included in the electricity royalty revenue chart presented by the company.
Great Bay’s Interconnection Deposit Financing Program is another source of cash flow. Under the program, Great Bay posts refundable deposits for developers seeking to hold positions in grid interconnection queues, generating fees while also supporting royalty origination.
Balance sheet and shareholder returns
Hussey said Altius has approximately CAD 350 million of total available liquidity, including cash on hand, CAD 125 million available under its revolver and CAD 62.5 million potentially available through an accordion feature under its credit facility.
During the quarter, Altius made CAD 2 million in scheduled debt repayments, paid CAD 5.2 million in cash dividends and repurchased and canceled about 227,000 shares for CAD 9.9 million under its normal course issuer bid. The board approved a quarterly dividend of CAD 0.10 per share, payable June 15 to shareholders of record on May 29.
Asked about capital deployment, Dalton said there is “no pressure” to spend cash quickly, though he said the company continues to see opportunities. He described potential investments as segmented by commodity and said Altius could still pursue external M&A, though not necessarily “giant splashy” transactions.
Dalton also said Great Bay is not currently distributing cash to its owners, including Altius, because shareholders believe the best use of cash is to reinvest in growth.
Portfolio outlook
In response to analyst questions, Dalton said lithium may be “a little out of balance” in the company’s portfolio after the recent acquisition and price move, but he said growth in other areas could help rebalance exposure over time.
He cited electricity royalties, potash and base metals as areas with growth drivers. Dalton pointed to potential expansion at Voisey’s Bay, Lundin’s expected decision regarding Saúva and Curipamba coming on stream later this year.
Asked where Altius may be underinvested, Dalton mentioned aluminum as a large traded commodity where the company has not yet found an entry point. He also said Altius feels light in iron ore on a revenue basis, though that could change with Kami and Champion. On uranium, he said the area is competitive, and on gold and silver, he noted that Altius already expects exposure through Curipamba and remains active in precious metals project generation.
About Altius Minerals TSE: ALS
Altius's strategy is to create per share growth through a diversified portfolio of royalty assets that relate to long life, high margin operations. This strategy further provides shareholders with exposures that are well aligned with global growth trends including increasing electricity-based market share within energy usage, global infrastructure build and refurbishment growth, increased EAF based steelmaking, steadily increasing agricultural fertilizer requirements and the enhanced appetite for financial asset diversification through precious metals ownership.
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