CKH - SEACOR Holdings Announces Third Quarter Results

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CKH) (the “Company”) today announced:

• For the third quarter, net income was $17.1 million ($0.88 per diluted share) including net mark-to-market gains of $1.4 million ($0.06 per diluted share) related to the Company’s investment in 5.2 million shares of Dorian LPG Ltd. (“Dorian”).
  
  
• For the preceding quarter, net income was $45.1 million ($2.14 per diluted share) including a net gain of $42.6 million ($1.89 per diluted share) related to the sale of the Company’s interest in Hawker Pacific Airservices, net mark-to-market gains of $0.6 million ($0.03 per diluted share) related to the Company’s investment in Dorian and net debt extinguishment losses of $4.3 million ($0.19 per diluted share) primarily related to the exchange of the Company’s 3.0% Convertible Senior Notes for new 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes.
  
  
• Operating income before depreciation and amortization (“OIBDA”)¹, was $52.7 million including $6.0 million of gains on asset dispositions.  This compares with $30.9 million, including $0.5 million of gains on asset dispositions, in the preceding quarter.
  
  
• For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, net income was $62.8 million ($3.21 per diluted share) compared with $9.6 million ($0.55 per diluted share) in the nine months ended September 30, 2017.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, OIBDA¹ was $117.8 million compared with $82.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Charles Fabrikant, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Operating income improved this quarter due to better results in our inland and ocean transport and logistics businesses.  Our SEA-Vista tanker fleet benefited from not having any dry-docking expenses during the quarter and more available revenue days and our chemical ATB was able to find employment in what was a weak spot market for product movement. As of September 30, 2018, SEA-Vista's revenue backlog was approximately $357 million. Inland rates improved in part due to harvest activity and export demand and also due to continued demand for coal exports and frac sand moving to the Permian from mid and upper Mississippi River origin.  Barge rates are variable and the self-imposed Chinese embargo of American origin soybeans creates uncertainty for next year.

Our Witt O’Brien’s subsidiary had a strong quarter and continued success in expanding its business.  It continues to lead the U.S. Virgin Islands' recovery from last year's storms and has also supported similar recovery efforts across communities in Texas, Florida and now Puerto Rico.  Following hurricanes Florence and Michael, Witt O’Brien’s has been activated in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.  Furthermore, its private sector activity continues to grow.

We have also announced our intention to redeem all of our 7.375% notes on October 31, 2018.  The cost to redeem the Notes, based on the “make whole” terms, was roughly equal to what we could earn on the cash required to be held to pay the Notes off in October 2019, when they become due.”

Continuing Operation Discussion

Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services - Operating income was $30.3 million compared with $8.2 million in the preceding quarter.  OIBDA¹ was $27.6 million compared with $14.9 million in the preceding quarter, excluding $14.0 million and $4.9 million, respectively, attributable to noncontrolling interests in SEA-Vista.  Operating income and OIBDA¹ in the third quarter included the recognition of $5.5 million of previously deferred gains due to a change in the lease duration for one U.S.-flag petroleum and chemical carrier.

Operating results benefited from lower regulatory dry-docking costs and higher revenues due to one U.S.-flag petroleum and chemical carrier returning to service following its dry-docking.

Equity earnings of $2.1 million, net of tax, were primarily from Trailer Bridge, the Company’s joint venture operating in the Puerto Rico liner trade.

Inland Transportation & Logistics Services - Operating income was $4.3 million compared with $2.1 million in the preceding quarter.  OIBDA¹ was $10.5 million compared with $8.3 million in the preceding quarter.

Operating results benefited from improved revenues in the dry-cargo barge pools primarily due to the commencement of the fall harvest.  Improved barge pool results were partially offset by lower results in the Company’s terminal and fleeting operations as a consequence of seasonal slowdowns.  Operating results for the Company’s Colombian barge and towboat operation were $0.7 million lower due to seasonal low water conditions.

Equity earnings of 50% or less owned companies were $1.8 million lower.  Operating results for SCF Bunge Marine, the Company’s joint venture that operates towboats on the U.S. Inland waterways, decreased primarily due to out-of-service time for the engine overhaul of one towboat.  Operating results for Bunge-SCF Grain, the Company’s joint venture that operates grain elevators in Illinois, decreased primarily due to reduced throughput of soybeans due to weak prices and tariff concerns.  Operating results for SCFCo, the Company’s joint venture operating on the Parana-Paraguay River in South America, were negatively impacted by low water conditions which extended cycle times of its voyages.

Foreign currency losses of $0.3 million were primarily due to the weakening of the Colombian peso in relation to the U.S. dollar underlying certain of the Company’s intercompany lease obligations.

Witt O’Brien’s - Operating income was $6.1 million compared with $7.3 million in the preceding quarter.  Certain of the Company’s recovery projects in Texas and Florida following the hurricanes of 2017 wrapped up or began to wind down in the third quarter.  However, the Company continues to experience strong revenue growth in both its public and private sector services and continues to support the recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Corporate and Eliminations - Administrative and general expenses of $5.7 million were $0.6 million higher than the preceding quarter primarily due to higher professional fees.

Capital Commitments - The Company’s capital commitments as of September 30, 2018 were $5.3 million.  Subsequent to September 30, 2018, the company committed to purchase additional property and equipment for $14.7 million.

Liquidity and Debt - As of September 30, 2018, the Company’s balances of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, restricted cash equivalents, marketable securities and construction reserve funds totaled $374.9 million.  Total outstanding debt was $528.4 million including $112.1 million of SEA-Vista debt that is non-recourse to the Company.  SEA-Vista is a consolidated venture and had $72.0 million of borrowing capacity under its credit facility as of September 30, 2018.

During the third quarter, the Company repurchased $4.0 million in principal amount of its 7.375% Senior Notes for $4.1 million.  These transactions resulted in debt extinguishment losses of $0.2 million.  On October 1, 2018, the Company announced it would redeem its 7.375% Senior Notes on October 31, 2018 at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes outstanding plus a make-whole premium as set forth in the applicable Notice of Redemption, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date.

Adoption of Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard - On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standard Board Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“Topic 606”).  As a consequence of adopting Topic 606, the Company now recognizes all of the operating revenues and expenses associated with the barge pools it manages along with additional operating expenses reflective of barge pool earnings attributable to third party barge owners and not the Company in its capacity as manager.  Previously, the Company recognized operating revenues and expenses only for its proportionate share of the barge pools in which it participated.  All prior period results have been adjusted to reflect the retrospective adoption of Topic 606.  The adoption of Topic 606 had no impact on previously reported operating income, segment profit, net income or earnings per share.

SEACOR Holdings Inc. (“SEACOR”) is a diversified holding company with interests in domestic and international transportation and logistics and risk management consultancy.  SEACOR is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol CKH.

Certain statements discussed in this release as well as in other reports, materials and oral statements that the Company releases from time to time to the public constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” “plan,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements concern management’s expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated economic performance and financial condition and other similar matters.  Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected by management of the Company.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events or results may differ significantly from these statements.  Actual events or results are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, including risks relating to weakening demand for the Company’s services as a result of unplanned customer suspensions, cancellations, rate reductions or non-renewals of vessel charters or failures to finalize commitments to charter vessels, increased government legislation and regulation of the Company’s businesses that could increase the cost of operations, increased competition if the Jones Act is repealed, liability, legal fees and costs in connection with the provision of emergency response services, decreased demand for the Company’s services as a result of declines in the global economy, declines in valuations in the global financial markets and a lack of liquidity in the credit sectors, including, interest rate fluctuations, availability of credit, inflation rates, change in laws, trade barriers, commodity prices and currency exchange fluctuations, activity in foreign countries and changes in foreign political, military and economic conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, safety record requirements related to Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services, decreased demand for Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services due to construction of additional refined petroleum product, natural gas or crude oil pipelines or due to decreased demand for refined petroleum products, crude oil or chemical products or a change in existing methods of delivery, compliance with U.S. and foreign government laws and regulations, including environmental laws and regulations and economic sanctions, the dependence of Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services and Inland Transportation & Logistics Services on several key customers, consolidation of the Company’s customer base, the ongoing need to replace aging vessels, industry fleet capacity, restrictions imposed by the Shipping Acts on the amount of foreign ownership of the Company’s Common Stock, operational risks of Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services and Inland Transportation & Logistics Services, effects of adverse weather conditions and seasonality, the level of grain export volume, the effect of fuel prices on barge towing costs, variability in freight rates for inland river barges, the effect of international economic and political factors on Inland Transportation & Logistics Services’ operations, the ability to realize anticipated benefits from acquisitions and other strategic transactions, adequacy of insurance coverage, the attraction and retention of qualified personnel by the Company, and various other matters and factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control as well as those discussed in Item 1A. (Risk Factors) of the Company’s Annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  It should be understood that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors.  Consequently, the preceding should not be considered to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties.  Given these risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based, except as required by law.  It is advisable, however, to consult any further disclosures the Company makes on related subjects in its filings with the SEC, including  Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K (if any).  These statements constitute the Company’s cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

For additional information, contact Investor Relations at (954) 627-5278 or visit SEACOR’s website at www.seacorholdings.com.

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1. Non-GAAP Financial Measure.  The Company, from time to time, discloses and discusses OIBDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, in its public releases and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company defines OIBDA as operating income (loss) plus depreciation and amortization.  The Company’s measure of OIBDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.  Other companies may calculate OIBDA differently than the Company, which may limit its usefulness as a comparative measure.  In addition, this measurement does not necessarily represent funds available for discretionary use and is not a measure of the Company’s ability to fund its cash needs.  OIBDA is a financial metric used by management (i) as a supplemental internal measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations; (ii) as a criteria for annual incentive bonuses paid to Company officers and other shore-based employees; and (iii) to compare to the OIBDA of other companies when evaluating potential acquisitions.

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1. Non-GAAP Financial Measure.  The Company, from time to time, discloses and discusses OIBDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, in its public releases and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company defines OIBDA as operating income (loss) plus depreciation and amortization.  The Company’s measure of OIBDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.  Other companies may calculate OIBDA differently than the Company, which may limit its usefulness as a comparative measure.  In addition, this measurement does not necessarily represent funds available for discretionary use and is not a measure of the Company’s ability to fund its cash needs.  OIBDA is a financial metric used by management (i) as a supplemental internal measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations; (ii) as a criteria for annual incentive bonuses paid to Company officers and other shore-based employees; and (iii) to compare to the OIBDA of other companies when evaluating potential acquisitions.

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1. Includes amounts attributable to both SEACOR and noncontrolling interests.
2. Non-GAAP Financial Measure.  The Company, from time to time, discloses and discusses OIBDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, for certain of its operating segments in its public releases and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company defines OIBDA as operating income (loss) for the applicable segment plus depreciation and amortization.  The Company’s measure of OIBDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.  Other companies may calculate OIBDA differently than the Company, which may limit its usefulness as a comparative measure.  In addition, this measurement does not necessarily represent funds available for discretionary use and is not a measure of the Company’s ability to fund its cash needs.  OIBDA is a financial metric used by management (i) as a supplemental internal measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations; (ii) as a criteria for annual incentive bonuses paid to Company officers and other shore-based employees; and (iii) to compare to the OIBDA of other companies when evaluating potential acquisitions.

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1. Pure Car/Truck Carrier.
2. Roll On/Roll Off.
3. Includes non-certificated 10,000 and 30,000 barrel inland river liquid tank barges.