Ferroglobe Reports Strong Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Narrowing annual Adj. EBITDA guidance to $150-170 million from $130-170 million previously

• Posted solid adjusted EBITDA of $58 million for the second quarter of 2024
• Net cash positive of $64 million and adjusted gross debt of $81 million
• U.S. Department of Commerce announced preliminary duties on Russian FeSi imports
• Coreshell advanced EV battery testing yields promising results
• French operations restarted in Q2, driving silicon metal volume growth
• Paid quarterly cash dividend of $0.013 per share in June; next dividend on September 27
• Shareholders approved the share buyback program at the June annual general meeting
  

LONDON, Aug. 05, 2024 (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 announces financial results for the second quarter of 2024.

Financial Highlights

Dr. Marco Levi, Ferroglobe’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We continued to execute well on multiple fronts during the second quarter. We posted strong quarterly results with a 15% increase in sales and more than doubled our adjusted EBITDA from the prior quarter. We successfully restarted our French operations in April, helping drive silicon metal and manganese-based specialty alloy volumes.

“We were also successful in our ferrosilicon trade case in the U.S. as our actions impacted the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to impose preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 283% and 748%, respectively, on all Russian ferrosilicon imports, which were announced in June. This is a very positive development that we expect to benefit our ferrosilicon business in the US, beginning in early 2025. Finally, the EV battery testing using Coreshell nanocoating technology with silicon-rich anode is yielding excellent results. We are excited about these results as it confirms our belief that high-grade silicon metal will play a critical role in the future of batteries used in EVs.

“We are narrowing the adjusted EBITDA guidance range from $130-$170 million to $150-$170 million. The strong second quarter combined with higher index prices should positively impact the third quarter, giving us more confidence for the second half of the year,” concluded Dr. Levi.

Consolidated Sales

In the second quarter of 2024, Ferroglobe reported net sales of $451 million, an increase of 15% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 1% over the year-ago period. This increase over the prior quarter is primarily attributable to higher sales volumes in silicon metal and manganese-based specialty alloys and also higher pricing in our portfolio products. Silicon metal and manganese-based alloys contributed $36 million and $32 million of the increase, respectively, partially offset by a $7 million decrease in silicon-based alloy sales.

Product Category Highlights

Silicon Metal

Silicon metal revenue in the second quarter was $204.0 million, an increase of 21.6% over the prior quarter and an increase of 4.5% over the year-ago period. Average realized selling price increased by 2.8%, primarily due to increased prices in the U.S. Total shipments increased due to higher volumes in EMEA. The adjusted EBITDA for silicon metal increased to $34.6 million during the second quarter, an increase of 115.2% compared with $16.1 million for the prior quarter. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was mainly driven by price and volume increases.

Silicon-Based Alloys

Silicon-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $105.2 million, a decrease of 6.0% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 21.1% in the year-ago period. Shipments decreased by 8.2%, which was attributable to demand weakness in the U.S. The adjusted EBITDA for the silicon-based alloys decreased to $10.2 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of 29.2% compared with $14.4 million for the prior quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased mainly due to the decrease in shipments during the second quarter of 2024.

Manganese-Based Alloys

Manganese-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $98.1 million, an increase of 47.6% over the prior quarter and an increase of 25.6% over the year-ago period. Average realized selling price increased by 12.9% and total shipments increased by 30.7%. Adjusted EBITDA for the manganese-based alloys portfolio increased to $13.8 million in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 150.6% compared with $5.5 million for the prior quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin increase was mainly driven by price and volume increases.

Raw materials and energy consumption for production

Raw materials and energy consumption for production was $264.3 million in the second quarter of 2024 versus $257.4 million in the prior quarter, an increase of 2.7%. As a percentage of sales, raw materials and energy consumption for production was 59% in the second quarter of 2024, an improvement versus 66% in the prior quarter. This variance was mainly due to lower production costs in Europe related to the restart of operations in France during the second quarter of 2024.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to the Parent

In the second quarter of 2024, net income attributable to the parent was $34.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to a net loss attributable to the parent of $2.0 million, or ($0.01) per diluted share in the first quarter. The company reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.13 for the second quarter, compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.00 per share in the prior quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA

In the second quarter of 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $57.7 million, or 12.8% of sales, an increase of 123.8% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $25.8 million, or 6.6% of sales, from the first quarter of 2024. The increase in adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales in the second quarter of 2024 is primarily attributable to higher realized prices and volumes.

Total Cash, Adjusted Gross Debt and Working Capital

The total cash balance was $144.5 million as of June 30, 2024, down $15.3 million from $159.8 million as of March 31, 2024.

During the second quarter, the Company generated $2.0 million of operating cash flow and had a negative cash flow from investing activities of $24.3 million. Cash flow from financing activities was positive $7.0 million.

Total working capital was $499.1 million on June 30, 2024, up from $487.5 million on March 31, 2024. The $11.6 million increase in working capital balance during the quarter was mainly due to a $35.8 million increase in inventories, partially offset by a $17.2 million increase in trade and other payables and a $7.0 million decrease in trade and other receivables.

Beatriz García-Cos, Ferroglobe’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “We continued our strong performance in the second quarter, increasing our adjusted EBITDA by 124% to $58 million and sales by 15% to $451 million while maintaining a strong balance sheet and net cash positive position of $64 million. The increase in our overall working capital over the first quarter was due to inventory build-up as we restarted our French operations and increased purchases of manganese ore. Our increase in manganese ore purchases was a strategic decision to capitalize on the disruption caused by the shutdown of the South32 manganese ore mine. As a result, the cost of our manganese ore purchases was below the current market. We are focused on increasing our working capital efficiency in the coming quarters.”

Enhanced Capital Return Policy

After Ferroglobe's board of directors approved a share buyback program, shareholders approved it at the June annual general meeting. We are authorized to repurchase up to 37.8 million shares, or approximately 20% of the outstanding shares, over a 5-year period.

The Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.013 per share on June 27, 2024. Our next cash dividend of $0.013 per share will be paid on September 27, 2024, to shareholders of record as of September 20, 2024.

Conference Call

Ferroglobe invites all interested persons to participate on its conference call at 8:30 AM, Eastern Time on August 6, 2024. 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/BI13217e2c34d24a3384eaac756b699a70

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/wczmto79

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, working capital, adjusted net profit, adjusted profit per share, adjusted gross debt and net cash/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
Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs
Email: corporate.comms@ferroglobe.com