Mark Behrman
Analyst · Goldman Sachs. Your line is now live
Thanks, John and good morning to everyone. Page 11 of the presentation provides a consolidated summary statement of operations for the first quarter of 2018 as compared to the first quarter of 2017. Beginning in Q1, 2018, we adopted the new revenue recognition standards. We along with many public companies have chosen not to go back and restate a prior year financial statements for its impact. For us the biggest change from the implementation of the new revenue recognition standards is that sales and cost of sales from a daytime facility and no longer be grossed up on our income statement this has no impact to our EBITDA. As you know, we manage the Baytown facility for a third party and as such going forward revenues and costs will be recognized more in line with how we do this arrangement. From our perspective this is a good change as it represents the true economic earnings and margin of that business. In reviewing our continuing operations excluding the impact of new revenue recognition standards and revenue from businesses sold in the second and third quarter of 2017. Total net sales in Q1 2018 decreased 2% to $100.5 million from adjusted net sales of $102.1 million in Q1 2017. In our Ag business we experienced stronger average net selling prices for aged in ammonia as they increased 21% and 5% respectively quarter-over-quarter. However, as I mentioned last quarter our first quarter average net selling prices for UAN from our Pryor facility would be negatively impacted from fourth quarter 2017 downtime at that facility and carryover sales of low priced full fill orders that were planned to be sold during the fourth quarter of 2017. Therefore average net selling prices for UAN in the first quarter of 2018 and were $138 a ton versus $152 a ton for the first quarter of 2017. The impact for the quarter was reduction in EBITDA by approximately $2.2 million as without the impact of those orders the average net selling price for UAN for the first quarter of 2018 would have been $170 a ton were approximately 12% increase. Sales volumes for ag ammonia will lower quarter-over-quarter resulting from a slower spring application caused by wet cold weather and the resulting switch to sales of ammonia to the industrial market. Additionally, UAN sales volumes were lower in the first quarter of 2018 versus the first quarter of 2017. I will provide some additional color on the next slide. With respect to our industrial sales net sales of industrial ammonia increased from higher volumes from improved on-stream rates at our El Dorado facility and the above mentioned switch of sales of ammonia from the ag to the industrial markets. Low density ammonium nitrate sales volumes for mining applications also increased as a result of our sales and marketing efforts and stronger overall demand from this market. Gross profit decreased slightly as a percentage of adjusted net sales primarily from one-time expenses of approximately $1.3 million relating to certain key initiatives associated with improving the reliability of our plans and our overall procurement processes and increase in depreciation expense of $700,000 and the lower UAN net selling price as I discussed earlier. Lastly, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2018 was higher compared to the prior year period. Despite the one-time consulting expenses in the lower UAN realized net selling prices. I will bridge the EBITDA for you on Slide 13. Please refer to our reconciliation of non-GAAP measures beginning on Slide 19 for further information on non-cash and one-time costs incurred during the period. As I just mentioned sales volumes of UAB decreased quarter-over-quarter. Page 12 bridges the UAN sales volume for the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. As you can see the first quarter of 2017 included to 12,000 ton barges of UAN that we are expected to be sold in the fourth quarter of 2016, but were delayed and rolled into the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, a 12,000 ton barge that was expected to be sold in the first quarter of 2018 rolled over into the second quarter 2018. Lastly, ammonia on-stream rates have a direct impact on the production of UAN as it is a downstream product. During the first quarter of 2017 our Cherokee and Pryor plants had outstanding operating performance as with ammonia on-stream rates of 99% and 96% respectively. That compares to ammonia on-stream rates of 85% and 91% respectively for the first quarter of 2018. The lower ammonia on-stream rates for the first quarter of 2018 resulted in less UAN tons for sale during the quarter. To give further clarity on the results of the quarter. Page 13, bridges our consolidated adjusted EBITDA for Q1, 2018 to consolidated adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2017. The first quarter of 2017 adjusted EBITDA of $20 million included $1.7 million from businesses sold in the second and third quarters of 2017 including our working interest in the Marcellus Shale. For an apples-to-apples comparison excluding the EBITDA from those businesses adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2017 was $18.3 million versus adjusted EBITDA of $21.7 million for the first quarter of 2018. That represents an increase of $3.4 million or 18.6%. The increase in EBITDA was driven by higher net selling prices, which contributed approximately $6.5 million to EBITDA as we achieved higher net selling prices for HDAN, ag ammonia, and industrial products. Additionally, the Tampa ammonia price averaged approximately $330 a metric ton for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $308 a metric ton for the same quarter of last year. Sales of ammonia and many of our industrial products which are indexed to the Tampa ammonia price improved with that increase. Lower cost of our natural gas feedstock contributed approximately $2.6 million to EBITDA as we averaged $2.79 in MMBtu for the first quarter of 2018 versus $3.15 in MMBtu for the first quarter of 2017. SG&A and other spending was down in Q1 2018 by approximately $700,000 after normalizing for businesses sold during 2017. The lower SG&A was a combination of lower overall compensation, reduced costs associated with a smaller Board of Directors, and lower legal fees. Offsetting these improvements to EBITDA, our lower overall sales volume was negatively impacted - which negatively impacted the quarter by approximately $3 million. This was driven by the lower UAN and ag ammonia sales volumes previously discussed, which were partially offset by the increased sales volumes of our industrial and mining products given our increased marketing efforts and the availability of additional industrial ammonia for sale at the El Dorado ammonia plant operated in an on-stream rate of 100% in the first quarter of 2018. As I discussed on the previous slide, UAN fall fill price carryover negatively impacted EBITDA for the first quarter by approximately $2.2 million. And lastly, the first quarter of 2018 included $1.3 million of one-time costs associated with the use of outside operational consultants that are assisting us in accelerating the enhancement of our maintenance management system and maintenance procedures and with centralizing and expanding our procurement and inventory management efforts. Also included in the first quarter of 2018 is the cost of several reliability studies being performed by third-party engineering firms at our Pryor facility. We believe these initiatives will lead to the improved overall reliability of our product facility to avoid significant unplanned downtime and the related impact to EBITDA. Overall, on a normalized basis excluding the one-time costs associated with our operational initiatives and the carryover impact on UAN net selling prices from our Q4 2017 downtime, our EBITDA would have been over $25 million representing an improvement of almost 40% compared to the prior year. Looking forward to the second quarter of 2018, please turn to Page 14. EBITDA for the second quarter of 2017 was $22.2 million. Listed on the page is the average Tampa ammonia price, our average realized net selling prices for UAN and HDAN and our average cost of natural gas for the second quarter of 2017. Also shown is the estimated annual EBITDA impact to us of $10 per ton movement in the Tampa ammonia, UAN, and HDAN prices based on the previously disclosed 2018 volume outlook, and a $0.10 MMBtu movement in natural gas prices. Current net selling prices for UAN and HDAN are showing increases of $15 a ton and $10 a ton over the second quarter of 2017 realized prices, and we expect our average natural gas pricing for the second quarter of 2018 to average approximately $2.50 in MMBtu or $0.69 in MMBtu improvement versus the second quarter of 2017. Offsetting some of the benefit of the higher net selling prices and lower natural gas costs we are experiencing is the lower Tampa ammonia pricing environment. The Tampa ammonia price was $275 a metric ton for April, which was $25 per metric ton below the average price for the second quarter of 2017. And that could continue for the remainder of the second quarter. We are however seeing a pickup in pricing of ammonia sold out of our Pryor facility and that will partially offset the impact from lower Tampa ammonia prices. Additionally, we expect to see increase sales volumes of certain products, particularly from our El Dorado facility, which had an ammonia on-stream rate of 87% in the second quarter of 2017. And we expect the overall ammonia on-stream rates to improve for the second quarter of 2018 versus the second quarter of 2017. So to sum up our view of the second quarter of 2018, we feel that we should have a material improvement in EBITDA versus the second quarter of 2017 providing we continue to operate that expected on-stream rates. Page 15 outlined our capital structure at the end of Q1 2018. We ended the quarter with over $28 million in cash. Additionally, our ABL facility was undrawn and had over $46 million of availability at quarter end, giving us total liquidity of approximately $75 million. Total outstanding debt at the quarter end was approximately $412 million, excluding the unamortized discount and issuance costs associated with our debt. We also had outstanding preferred stock of approximately $192 million, including approximately $52 million in accrued and unpaid dividends. Finally, as many of you saw last week we completed the refinancing of our senior secured notes by issuing $400 million of new five-year senior secured notes have been used to repay our existing senior secured notes paid a call premium and on those senior secured notes from pay fees and expenses of the transaction. The new notes have a five-year maturity our non-callable for the first two years and carry an interest rate of nine and five years. In addition, the notes include customary covenants relating to debt recurrence and restricted payments. However, in addition to the traditional two to one fixed charge coverage ratio needed to make restricted payments. We have included a provision that provides us an option to use any cash above a minimum of $65 million in total the liquidity to redeem preferred stock providing that we offer 50% of the potential restricted payment to note holders at a price of 103. Note holders choose not to accept the offer then we will have the ability use those funds to make further redemptions of preferred stock. As our financial results and liquidity position improves as a result of anticipated increased on-stream rates, expectations for continued growth in sales volumes and the forecast of continue recovery of ag selling prices. We expect to have the flexibility to de-lever with our excess cash. Additionally, in connection with our refinancing, as Dan mentioned we entered into an agreement with the holder of our preferred stock to extend the date upon which they have the right to elect to have as redeem their preferred stock from August 2, 2019 to October 25, 2023 which is six months beyond the maturity of the new notes. These were important steps for us they provide us with greater financial flexibility which we expect will allow us to execute our strategy aimed at delivering greater and more consistent cash flow and increase very for shareholders. We were happy to receive continued support from previous note holders and the investors in addition to our preferred stockholder. Moving to Page 16, we outlined our free cash flow. Cash provided by operations for the first three months of 2018 was approximately $1 million. Additionally, cash flow from operations includes the semi-annual interest payment on our senior secured notes that occurred in the first quarter each year. Capital expenditures in Q1 2018 were approximately $6 million a reduction of almost $8 million from the prior year period. Net cash used for financing primarily reflects regularly scheduled debt payments in our insurance premium financing. Lastly, during Q1 2018 we received the full indemnity escrow amount of $2.7 million related to the sale of our climate control business and we received $1.5 million relating to recovery from a property insurance claim. For the first quarter of 2018 we had a decrease in cash of $5 million which was an improvement of $10 million compared to the reduction in cash we had in the prior year period. As John mentioned earlier we have made a decision to reduce the length of the plant turnaround at our El Dorado facility that was scheduled for September of this year. We had indicated that the turnaround would be for 25 days and we are now planning for a 12 day turnaround this year with in approximate 13 day turnaround in 2019. This will allow us to spread out the capital spend over two years in addition to scheduling El Dorado's turnarounds in a different year than Cherokee's. The financial impact from the reduction in turnaround time is a decrease of approximately $2 million in CapEx this year. That contributes to a reduction of our annual CapEx budget from approximately $35 million to approximately $32 million. As well as lower turnaround repairs and maintenance expenses of approximately $2.5 million reducing the annual turnaround expenses from $11 million to $8.5 million and lastly, the additional contribution margin that will pick up from 13 additional production days. Given the issuance of a new senior secured notes, cash interest is now projected to be approximately $40 million for the full-year of 2018. Lastly, we previously disclosed several non-core asset sales. We are currently in discussions to sell several pieces of real estate that we believe can generate approximately $6 million in additional cash. I will update you on the progress next quarter. Now I'll turn it back over to Dan to wrap up.