Ferroglobe Reports Strong Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Maintaining Adj. EBITDA guidance of $150-170 million

• Recorded improved adjusted EBITDA of $60 million for the third quarter of 2024
• Positive net cash position of $32 million and adjusted gross debt of $89 million
• U.S. Department of Commerce announced duties on Russian, Brazilian, Kazakhstan and Malaysian FeSi imports
• Paid quarterly cash dividend of $0.013 per share in September; next dividend of $0.013 per share on December 27
• Repurchased shares during the third quarter and implemented a 10b5-1 plan
• Preparing to issue ESG report highlighting the company’s 2030 decarbonization targets and other milestones

LONDON, Nov. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ferroglobe PLC ( 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 third quarter of 2024.

Financial Highlights

(1) Cash outflows for capital expenditures
(2) Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow less capital expenditures

Dr. Marco Levi, Ferroglobe’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Despite the market headwinds, third quarter results were in line with our expectations with adjusted EBITDA of $60 million, slightly higher than in the second quarter, while volumes were impacted by soft demand. We are taking appropriate actions to reduce production in response to current demand trends. We are optimistic that demand will improve in 2025 as the year progresses.

“We see significant potential in 2025 in the U.S. ferrosilicon market. The US Department of Commerce has imposed final anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 283% and 748%, respectively, on all Russian ferrosilicon imports. On November 1, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia, ranging from 1% to 22%. In addition, preliminary countervailing duties ranging from 2.4% to 61.7% were announced in September against Brazil, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.

“As part of our next ESG Report, we will announce a decarbonization objective of reducing scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by at least 26% by 2030 from a 2020 baseline as part of our goal to enhance sustainability and transparency,” concluded Dr. Levi.

Consolidated Sales

In the third quarter of 2024, Ferroglobe reported net sales of $433.5 million, a decrease of 3.9% over the prior quarter and an increase of 4.0% from the comparable prior year period. This decrease over the prior quarter is primarily attributable to lower sales volumes in our portfolio products, partially offset by higher pricing in silicon metal and manganese-based specialty alloys. Silicon metal, silicon-based alloys and manganese-based alloys declined in sales by $10.4 million, $3.5 million and $8.4 million, respectively.

Product Category Highlights

Silicon Metal

Silicon metal revenue in the third quarter was $193.6 million, a decrease of 5.1% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 2.5% from the comparable prior period. Average realized selling price increased by 4.8%, and shipments decreased due to lower volumes in EMEA and the U.S. The adjusted EBITDA for silicon metal increased 17.3% to $40.6 million during the third quarter, compared with $34.6 million for the prior quarter. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was mainly driven by higher average selling price and energy compensation in France.

Silicon-Based Alloys

Silicon-based alloy revenue in the third quarter was $101.8 million, a decrease of 3.3% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 11.4% from the comparable prior period. Shipments decreased by 3.1%, which was attributable to demand weakness. Adjusted EBITDA for the silicon-based alloys decreased to $2.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 76.9% compared with $10.2 million for the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased mainly due to cost deterioration attributed to volume declines, lower fixed cost absorption and decreasing efficiency.

Manganese-Based Alloys

Manganese-based alloy revenue in the third quarter was $89.7 million, a decrease of 8.5% over the prior quarter and an increase of 52.1% from the comparable prior period. The average realized selling price increased by 15.5% and total shipments decreased by 20.8%. Adjusted EBITDA for the manganese-based alloys portfolio increased to $27.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 101.4% compared with $13.8 million for the prior quarter. The increase in adjusted EBITDA margin was mainly driven by higher sales prices and the energy compensation in France in the third quarter of 2024.

Raw materials and energy consumption for production

Raw materials and energy consumption for production was $256.2 million in the third quarter of 2024 versus $264.3 million in the prior quarter, a decrease of 3.1%. As a percentage of sales, raw materials and energy consumption for production was 59% in the third quarter of 2024, equivalent to the prior quarter. Cost improvement compared to the previous quarter was driven by a decrease in energy costs in France and Spain and lower raw material prices, primarily manganese ore.

Net Income Attributable to the Parent

In the third quarter of 2024, net income attributable to the parent was $18.8 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to a net income attributable to the parent of $34.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share in the second quarter. The Company reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.11 for the third quarter, compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.13 per share in the prior quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA

In the third quarter of 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $60.4 million, or 13.9% of sales, an increase of 1% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $57.7 million, or 12.8% of sales, from the second quarter of 2024. This was mainly driven by stronger pricing.

Total Cash, Adjusted Gross Debt and Working Capital

(1) Total cash is comprised of restricted cash, cash and cash equivalents
(2) Adjusted gross debt excludes bank borrowings on factoring program and impact of leasing standard IFRS16 for each of the periods presented

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents was $120.8 million as of September 30, 2024, down $23.7 million from $144.5 million as of June 30, 2024.

During the third quarter, the Company generated $11.1 million in cash flow from operations, used $20.4 million in cash flow from investing activities and used $16.4 million in cash flows from financing activities, mainly due to loan repayments of $6.6 million, payments for lease liabilities of $5.8 million and dividend payments of $2.4 million

Total working capital was $528.6 million on September 30, 2024, up from $499.1 million on June 30, 2024. The $29.5 million increase in working capital balance during the quarter was mainly due to a $12.3 million increase in trade and other receivables, $10.3 million increase in inventories and $6.9 million decrease in trade and other payables .

Beatriz García-Cos, Ferroglobe’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “We posted a strong adjusted EBITDA of $60 million in the third quarter and are reiterating our annual adjusted EBITDA guidance of $150 million to $170 million. Our working capital increased during the quarter as we are preparing for earlier idling of certain operations in the fourth quarter to manage inventory and preserve cash.”

Capital Returns

During the third quarter, Ferroglobe repurchased approximately 117,000 shares at an average price of $4.22 per share and paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.013 per share on September 27, 2024. Our next cash dividend of $0.013 per share will be paid on December 27, 2024, to shareholders of record as of December 20, 2024.

Conference Call

Ferroglobe invites all interested persons to participate on its conference call at 8:30 AM, Eastern Time on November 7, 2024. The call may also be accessed via an audio webcast.

To join via phone:
Conference call participants should dial 800-715-9871 (US toll-free) or 646-307-1963 (international) approximately 15 minutes prior to start time.

To join via webcast:
A simultaneous audio webcast, and replay will be accessible here:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ej52hvj2

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: [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT:

Cristina Feliu Roig
Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs
Email: [email protected]

Ferroglobe PLC and Subsidiaries
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Income Statement
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

Adjusted EBITDA ($,000):

Adjusted profit attributable to Ferroglobe ($,000):

Adjusted diluted profit per share: