The present invention relates to a powderous material comprising a hydroxide or oxyhydroxide of one or more metal elements for preparing a positive electrode active material for secondary batteries, wherein the one or more metal elements include at least one of Ni, Co and Mn, wherein the material comprises secondary particles comprising a plurality of primary particles, wherein the material has a median particle size D50 between 3.0 µm and 20.0 µm as determined by laser diffraction, wherein said primary particles have a particle-based thickness distribution as determined by measuring primary particle thickness in an image taken by SEM, wherein said thickness distribution has a median thickness between 180 nm and 600 nm, and wherein the material has a span value (D90-D10)/D50 being at most 0.6, preferably at most 0.4, more preferably at most 0.2.