Albemarle bullish on lithium outlook after Q4 profit

Albemarle Corp, the world's largest lithium producer, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and gave a bullish 2019 outlook, saying it sees nothing that could slow demand for the white metal used to make electric car batteries. The forecast for sales growth of up to 14% this year comes as anxiety grows among some investors that the race to supply lithium for batteries and other materials could flood the market, hurting profits by decreasing prices.