Smart Sand (SND) reported strong Q4 earnings despite the weakness that the overall frac sand sector faced during 2018. The company was able to surprise investors with a lower-than-expected loss, mainly due to higher sales and greater contribution margin. These events, of course, were made possible by SND's recently increased logistics capabilities.
Moving sand in-basin, which is where trends are shifting to as opposed to selling FOB, also allows for better pricing for SND. This is because SND is now able to capture incremental value by delivering sand closer to wells in-basin rather