Brian Valentine
Analyst · Bank of Montreal. Please go ahead
Thanks, Pat, and good morning, everyone. We’re now turning to our second quarter results on slide six. In the second quarter of 2020, the company reported net income attributable to The Andersons of $30.4 million or $0.92 per diluted share and adjusted net income of $29.3 million or $0.88 per diluted share on revenues of $1.9 billion. In the second quarter of 2019, we reported net income attributable to the company of $29.9 million or $0.91 per diluted share and adjusted net income of $32.3 million or $0.98 per diluted share on revenues of $2.3 billion. The benefits of our cost reduction initiatives were evident in the second quarter, as operating general and administrative expenses declined 16% year-over-year. Pretax income was almost $33 million lower year-over-year with the Trade Group accounting for 2/3 of that difference. This was offset by a significant change in income taxes, as we recorded an income tax benefit of $12.2 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to income tax expense of $11 million in the second quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the company was $70.7 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $90.1 million in the second quarter of 2019. Adjusted Trade Group EBITDA was lower by approximately $29 million, which was offset by improvements in Ethanol and Plant Nutrient. Our effective tax rate could vary considerably each quarter based on the amount of income or loss attributable to the non-controlling interest. As in the first quarter, the adjusted rate removes the benefits we expect to receive as a result of the Cares Act. These benefits had an impact of $0.11 per share for the quarter and $0.31 per share year-to-date. We generated strong cash flows from operations and continued to focus on working capital management and reduced capital spending. Short-term debt of $96 million was approximately $50 million lower than at year-end and more than $300 million lower than it was a year ago. Long-term debt has decreased to approximately $35 million compared to the beginning of the year as well as at this time last year. Long-term debt reduction remains a priority. Now we’ll move on to a review of each of our four business units, beginning with the Trade Group on slide seven. The Trade Group reported pre-tax income of $400,000, and adjusted pre-tax income of $1.4 million compared to pre-tax income of $22.6 million, and adjusted pre-tax income of $25.8 million in the same period of 2019. Income from merchandising grains, feed products and other commodities was on par with strong second quarter 2019 results. The group’s efforts to capture synergies from the integration of the legacy Lansing and Thompson’s businesses also provided benefits. Conversely, the group’s income from its grain storage assets was lower than in the second quarter of last year as the group-owned substantially fewer bushels year-over-year due to the small 2019 crop in the Eastern corn belt. Corn and wheat basis appreciation was also substantially lower than last year’s outsized results. The Trade Group’s adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $17.5 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $46.8 million, recorded in the second quarter of 2019. Moving to slide eight. The Ethanol Group recorded second quarter pre-tax income attributable to the company of $900,000 compared to $3.7 million in the second quarter of 2019. Margins remained significantly negative in the early part of the quarter until the U.S. economy began to reopen and gasoline demand increased. As Pat explained earlier, the group extended its spring shutdowns until demand and margins improved enough to restart each plant. As expected, the group ran the plants at approximately 15% of total production capacity during the quarter. By the end of the quarter, all five plants were back online and margins had improved significantly. Results for the quarter also included the reversal of more than half of the first quarter’s $14.7 million in non-cash mark-to-market adjustments. The group recorded EBITDA attributable to the company of $11 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $4.5 million in the second quarter of 2019. I also want to remind everyone that year-over-year comparisons are difficult as 2020 includes the consolidated results of all five ethanol plants, whereas 2019 results included equity earnings for three of those plants. Turning to slide nine. The Plant Nutrient Group recorded pre-tax income of $19.4 million in the second quarter, which was a 22% improvement over second quarter 2019 results of $15.9 million. The second quarter marked the group’s fifth consecutive year-over-year quarterly improvement. Ag supply chain volume was up substantially, as the group benefited from a strong planting season. Other lines of business also grew as we expanded into new markets, products and sales channels. Operating expenses continued to move lower year-over-year due to cost reduction initiatives. Plant Nutrient EBITDA for the quarter was $27.2 million, up almost 10% from the $24.9 million the group recorded in the second quarter of 2019. Turning to slide 10. In the Rail Group remained profitable in a weak rail market, generating $2.6 million of pre-tax income in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $3.2 million last year. The year-over-year change was almost entirely due to a lack of income from car sales in the current quarter. Leasing results were unchanged as lower maintenance expenses partially offset the impact of lower lease rates, utilization and cars on lease. Service and other income was comparable to that of the second quarter of 2019. Finally, the Rail Group recorded $15.3 million of EBITDA for the quarter, which was in line with last year’s results. And now, I’d like to turn things back over to Pat for some thoughts about the remainder of this year and early thoughts about 2021.