GSM - Ferroglobe Reports Strong Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

LONDON, Aug. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ: GSM) (“Ferroglobe”, the “Company”, or the “Parent”), a leading producer globally of silicon metal, silicon-based and manganese-based specialty alloys, today announced financial results for the second quarter 2023.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Reported Q2-23 revenue of $456.4 million, up 14% over the prior quarter
• Q2-23 adjusted EBITDA of $105.7 million, up 136% over the prior quarter
• Improved Q2-23 adjusted EBITDA margin to 23.2% versus 11.2% in Q1-23
• Q2-23 Adjusted EPS was $0.30 versus $0.05 in Q1-23
• Gross debt was $400.1 million in Q2-23, flat versus the prior quarter and down $100 million from a year-ago quarter
• Net debt declined to $37 million, down from $55 million in Q1-23 and $194 million in Q2-22
• $100 million available from our ABL facility completely undrawn in Q2-23
• Total cash increased to $363 million, up from $344 million in Q1-23 and $307 million in Q2-22
  
  

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Executed a partial redemption of the 2025 Senior Notes on July 31, redeeming $150 million of the 9 3/8% Senior Secured Notes due in 2025, reducing annual interest expense by $14 million
• Approaching net cash neutral - Lowest net debt in Company history
• Continued improvement to balance sheet with cash increasing to $363 million and net debt declining to $37 million
• The US recently added Silicon Metal as a critical material, highlighting its importance in the supply chain and reinforcing the onshoring opportunity for Ferroglobe
• Well-positioned to capitalize on strong long-term growth trends for high purity silicon metal used in the production of solar technology and batteries
• Finalized our first long-term power agreement in Spain, enabling a partial resumption of Spanish operations while increasing renewable energy sourcing
  
  

Dr. Marco Levi, Ferroglobe’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to report strong second quarter sales growth and an EBITDA improvement of 136%, highlighting our resilience and ability to navigate effectively through this volatile pricing environment as our end markets remain under pressure. Equally importantly, our focus on strengthening our balance sheet has been effective as our cash and net debt positions reached their best levels in the Company’s history as of June 30. Subsequent to quarter-end, we continued our deleveraging efforts by redeeming $150 million of our Senior Secured Notes due in 2025.

“Recently, the US Department of Energy added Silicon Metal to its critical material list. This is a significant step, validating the onshoring trend and highlighting our opportunity in the US market.

“As expected, we finalized our first multi-year energy contract in Spain starting in 2024. This is an initial step in the process to sign additional contracts to further hedge our future energy needs. This contract provides us with access to 100% renewable energy at competitive rates and enables Ferroglobe to increase production in Spain.

“While end markets remain soft, our proactive energy strategy, combined with disciplined costs controls, is bolstering our performance in 2023. Hence, we are reiterating our guidance for the full year of adjusted EBITDA of $270 to $300 million,” concluded Dr. Levi.

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

(1)  Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow plus investing cash flow
(2)  Adjusted gross debt excludes bank borrowings on factoring program and impact of leasing standard IFRS16 at June 30, 2023 March 31, 2023 & June 30, 2022

Sales

Ferroglobe reported second quarter net sales of $456 million, an increase of 14% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 46% over Q2-22. The improvement over our prior quarter revenue is primarily attributable to higher volumes in our main products. The $56 million increase in sales over the prior quarter was primarily driven by silicon metal, which accounted for $35 million of the increase, and manganese-based alloys, which accounted for $16 million, partially offset by a decrease in silicon-based alloys, which accounted for $2 million.

Raw materials and energy consumption for production

Raw materials and energy consumption for production was $252 million in the second quarter of 2023 versus $232 million in the prior quarter, an increase of 9%. As a percentage of sales, raw materials and energy consumption for production was 55% in the second quarter of 2023 versus 58% in the prior quarter. Excluding the PPA impact, raw materials and energy consumption for production was 50% of revenue in the second quarter, an improvement from 64% in the first quarter.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to the Parent

In the second quarter, net profit attributable to the parent was $32 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to a net profit attributable to the parent of $21 million, or $0.11 per diluted share in the first quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter was $106 million, an increase of 136% over first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $45 million. Adjusted EBITDA margins were 23% in the second quarter, up from 11% in the first quarter. The increase in second quarter adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher sales volumes and lower costs, which benefited from energy and CO2 compensation.

Total Cash

The total cash balance was $363 million as of June 30, 2023, up $19 million from $344 million as of March 31, 2023.

During the second quarter, we generated positive operating cash flow of $24 million, negative cash flow from investing activities of $23 million, and $19 million positive cash flow from financing activities.

Total Working Capital

Total working capital was $475 million at June 30, 2023, a decrease from $582 million at March 31, 2023. The $107 million decrease in working capital during the quarter was due to a decrease in trade and other receivables by $31 million, a decrease in inventories by $33 million, and an increase in trade and other payables by $44 million.

Beatriz García-Cos, Ferroglobe’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “We continued to manage our working capital effectively during the quarter, reducing it by $107 million to $475 million with trade receivables, inventories and accounts payable all contributing. During the second quarter, we improved our net debt by $18 million to $37 million.

“In July, we further strengthened our balance sheet by redeeming $150 million of our 9 3/8% Senior Secured Notes, effectively reducing the outstanding note balance by half and lowering our annual interest expense by approximately $14 million. In less than 18 months, we have reduced gross debt by $270 million, from roughly $520 million to $250 million today, highlighting our strong cash flow generation.

“We are currently evaluating our next steps in managing our balance sheet as we contemplate optimal actions to maximize long-term shareholder value,” concluded Mrs. Garcia-Cos.

Product Category Highlights

Silicon Metal

Silicon metal revenue in the second quarter was $195 million, an increase of 21.5% over the prior quarter. The average realized price was down 11.4%, driven by lower market index pricing in the US and Europe. Total shipments increased due to the restart of our French operations as a result of our energy agreement. Adjusted EBITDA for silicon metal increased to $82 million during the second quarter, an increase of 164.8% compared with $31 million for the prior quarter. EBITDA margin in the quarter increased mainly driven by higher energy compensation and lower raw materials prices, primarily coal.

Silicon-Based Alloys

Silicon-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $133 million, a decrease of 1.4% over the prior quarter. Shipments remained broadly stable versus the prior quarter, while average realized selling prices slightly declined by 2.1% versus the previous quarter due to downward market prices partially offset by product mix improvement. Adjusted EBITDA for the silicon-based alloys portfolio increased to $32 million in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 45.1% compared with $22 million for the prior quarter. EBITDA margin increased in the quarter as a result of footprint optimization, shifting production to France with lower energy costs.

Manganese-Based Alloys

Manganese-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $78 million, an increase of 26.6% over the prior quarter. Average realized selling prices decreased by 5.2% linked to continued index price declines while total shipments increased 33.5% due to the resuming of operations in France and increased operations in Spain driven by lower energy prices. Adjusted EBITDA for the manganese-based alloys portfolio decreased to $1 million in the second quarter, a decrease of 47.9% compared with $2 million for the prior quarter. EBITDA margin in the quarter decreased as a result of a decline in the Manganese Spread.

Subsequent Events

Redemption of $150 million of its 9.375% Senior Secured Notes

On July 21, 2023 the Company announced that its subsidiary issuers of the 9.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 (the “Notes”) have given a notice of partial redemption of such Notes at 102.34375% of the principal amount plus accrued interest. The issuers elected to redeem an aggregate principal amount of $150 million of the Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest of approximately $14 million on July 31, 2023. The Notes were redeemed with cash on the balance sheet.

Conference Call

Ferroglobe invites all interested persons to participate on its conference call at 8:30 AM, Eastern Time on August 15, 2023. Please dial-in at least five minutes prior to the call to register. The call may also be accessed via an audio webcast.

To join via phone:
Conference call participants should pre-register using this link:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BIa07b56b2c46349bb8183571efe30a4a8
Once registered, you will receive the dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which are required to access the conference call.

To join via webcast:
A simultaneous audio webcast, and replay will be accessible here:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/d39f9hrr

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC is a leading global producer of silicon metal, silicon- and manganese- based specialty alloys and ferroalloys, serving a customer base across the globe in dynamic and fast-growing end markets, such as solar, electronics, automotive, consumer products, construction, and energy. The Company is based in London. For more information, visit http://investor.ferroglobe.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but are based on certain assumptions of management and describe the Company’s future plans, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements often use forward-looking terminology, including words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “guidance”, “intends”, “likely”, “may”, “plan”, “potential”, “predicts”, “seek”, “target”, “will” and words of similar meaning or the negative thereof.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on information currently available to the Company and assumptions that management believe to be reasonable, but are inherently uncertain. As a result, Ferroglobe’s actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control.

Forward-looking financial information and other metrics presented herein represent the Company’s goals and are not intended as guidance or projections for the periods referenced herein or any future periods.

All information in this press release is as of the date of its release. Ferroglobe does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect new information, events or circumstances arising after the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this press release.

Non-IFRS Measures

This document may contain summarized, non-audited or non-GAAP financial information. The information contained herein should therefore be considered as a whole and in conjunction with all the public information regarding the Company available, including any other documents released by the Company that may contain more detailed information. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales, working capital as a percentage of sales, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net profit, adjusted profit per share, working capital, adjusted gross debt and net debt, are non-IFRS financial metrics that management uses in its decision making. Ferroglobe has included these financial metrics to provide supplemental measures of its performance. The Company believes these metrics are important and useful to investors because they eliminate items that have less bearing on the Company’s current and future operating performance and highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Alex Rotonen, CFA
Vice President, Investor Relations
Email: investor.relations@ferroglobe.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

Cristina Feliu Roig
Executive Director – Communications & Public Affairs
Email: corporate.comms@ferroglobe.com

Adjusted EBITDA ($,000):

Adjusted profit attributable to Ferroglobe ($,000):