Earnings Labs

Ferroglobe PLC (GSM)

Q1 2021 Earnings Call· Tue, May 18, 2021

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Ferroglobe's First Quarter 2021 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we’ll conduct the question-and-answer session and instructions will be given at that time. As a reminder, this conference call may be recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Beatriz García-Cos, Ferroglobe's Chief Financial Officer. You may begin. Beatriz García-Cos: Thank you. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining Ferroglobe's first quarter 2021 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Marco Levi, our Chief Executive Officer; Benoist Ollivier, Ferroglobe's Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer; and Gaurav Mehta, our Transformation Director and EVP of Strategy and Investor Relations; and Jorge Lavin, Group Controller. Before we get started with some prepared remarks, I'm going to read a brief statement. Please turn to slide 2 at this time. Statements made by management during this conference call that are forward-looking are based on current expectations. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements can be found in Ferroglobe's most recent SEC filings and the exhibits to those filings, which are available on our web page, www.ferroglobe.com. In addition, this discussion includes reference to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, gross debt, net debt and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are non-IFRS measures. Reconciliation of these non-IFRS measures may be found in our most recent SEC filings. Next slide please. During today's call, we first -- we will first review the highlights for the first quarter as well as our business and operating environment. Then I will provide some additional details on our financial performance and key drivers behind our results. And finally, we will provide an update on the execution of our strategic plan. At this time, I would now like to turn the call over to Marco Levi, our Chief Executive Officer. Next slide please.

Marco Levi

Management

Thank you, Beatriz. And welcome to our first quarter 2021 earnings call. It is a pleasure to present Ferroglobe's strong first quarter results particularly following the challenging year we faced in 2020. Despite the lingering threat of COVID, we are witnessing economic activity recovering at a tremendous pace globally, and we are certainly capturing the benefit of stronger demand across all our end markets. In part, we feel the overall pace of recovery has caught the industry by surprise and the tone of many of our customers going into the New Year was still one of caution and uncertainty. However, as we turn the corner and enter 2021, we have seen an acceleration in activity and firm signs of demand strength that is expected to continue at least through third quarter of this year. We are finally at an inflection point, which is underpinned by our solid supply-demand fundamentals across all products in our portfolio. While we are excited about the positive shift in the market backdrop, we have actually failed with the progress we have made at Ferroglobe on multiple fronts during the first quarter. The ongoing efforts to transform this business operationally and strengthen the business financially, positions us well to compete and capitalize on this market opportunity. We have been selectively restarting some previously idled capacity in line with our long-term plan, all while driving down costs by focusing on operational improvement. Additionally, we made significant advancements in our comprehensive financing during Q1 and now have the consent of an overwhelming majority of our existing noteholders to push to an exchange offer to refinance and extend the notes. This is a highly favorable outcome for the company given the shorter timeline to closing and lower professional fees to execute, and last week we announced a successful signing…

Marco Levi

Management

Thank you, Beatriz. Now turning to slide 19. At this time, I would like to take a few minutes to provide an update on our strategic plan. Given that we are now running full speed ahead on the execution of initiatives across all value creation areas. We intend to provide a quarterly update on our progress from both the quantitative and a qualitative basis hitting on some key highlights. To start, let me reiterate our targets for the year. We are expecting to realize $55 million of incremental EBITDA benefit in 2021 as well as $49 million of working capital improvement, which Beatriz highlighted. On the EBITDA side, we captured $4.75 million of benefit through specific initiatives tied to turnaround plan, which accounts for 9% of our annual target. It is worth noting that the $4.75 million is actual impact, which flows into our P&L. Also please keep in mind that the savings are not expected to be captured in a linear fashion as several larger initiatives are weighted towards the back half of the year. With the way these initiatives are collectively progressing, we remain confident in delivering our target. With regards to footprint optimization, we formally engaged with the European Work Council on March 29 to commence the restructuring in Spain and France. In Spain, the negotiation period officially started on April 8. On May 13, 2021, the consultation period ended without an agreement between the parties and FerroAtlántica del Cinca, which communicate its decision regarding the collective dismissal to the legal representation of the worker and the labor authority. So, FerroAtlántica del Cinca will communicate its decision. In France, the project implies a consultation period of four months. The procedure started officially on April 13, and Ferroglobe management is working since then to encourage social dialogue and…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Brian DiRubbio with Baird. Your line is now open. And pardon me Brian, your line is now open. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. I would now turn the call back over to Marco…

Marco Levi

Management

Thank you.

Operator

Operator

…Levi for closing remarks.

Marco Levi

Management

Thank you. That concludes our first quarter earnings call. As I mentioned at the beginning of the call, the stats are aligned in terms of all parts of the company showing strong prospects for the year. Now it is up to us to execute on all fronts. The existing order book, the addition of new capacity and the ongoing improvements in how we operate the company will all support our ability to capitalize on this opportunity. The progress on the financing side is also critical to our success. Now that we have mitigated some risks, the path forward provides us comfort that we can continue to execute on our plan. Things are shaping up nicely, and we look forward to keep you updated on our progress. Thank you again for your participation. Have a great day.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, you may now disconnect.