General Steel Reports Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

BEIJING, Aug. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE: GSI), a leading non-state-controlled steel producer in China, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Henry Yu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Steel commented, "We are very proud that our turn-around efforts are now driving measurable improvements to our financials, as gross margin expanded to a 36-month high and EBITDA substantially improved to a positive $33.6 million. These highlights reflect the success we have had over the past year in lowering our unit production cost and enhancing our operating efficiencies."

"During the second quarter, industry fundamentals significantly improved, and we were able to hold firm on our pricing. We are seeing a better demand-and-supply balance, and it is increasingly more evident that the market dynamics and competitive landscape will substantially improve in the coming months." Mr. Yu concluded.

John Chen, Chief Financial Officer of General Steel, commented, "This quarter we saw contributions to profitability from our two major initiatives. Our sourcing strategy lowered our raw material costs and, our upgraded production lines and technical improvements lowered our unit costs. We also turned around our operating cash flows to an inflow of $56.1 million, providing us with greater operating flexibility for the quarters ahead. Given our solid execution and the improved market fundamentals, we anticipate additional margin expansion and are confident that we will deliver on our target EPS range of 8 to 12 cents for the second half of 2014."

Second Quarter 2014 Financial Information

• Sales volume decreased by 5.7% year-over-year to approximately 1.31 million metric tons, compared with 1.38 million metric tons in the second quarter of 2013.
• Sales totaled $588.0 million, compared with $653.7 million in the second quarter of 2013.
• Gross profit was $28.1 million on gross margin of 4.8%, compared with a gross loss of $(35.5) million in the second quarter of 2013.
• Operating income totaled $6.3 million, compared with an operating loss of $(46.9) million in the second quarter of 2013.
• Net loss attributable to the Company reduced to approximately $(11.0) million, or $(0.20) per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(39.8) million, or $(0.72) per diluted share in the second quarter of 2013.
• As of June 30, 2014, the Company had cash and restricted cash of $492.9 million.

First Six Months 2014 Financial Information

• Sales volume decreased by 2.4% year-over-year to approximately 2.62 million metric tons, compared with 2.69 million metric tons in the first six months of 2013.
• Sales were $1.2 billion, compared with $1.3 billion in the first six months of 2013.
• Gross profit was $5.5 million on gross margin of 0.5%, compared with a gross loss of $(31.5) million in the first six months of 2013.
• Operating loss was $(37.3) million, compared with an operating loss of $(15.0) million in the first six months of 2013.
• Net loss attributable to the Company was $(54.6) million, or $(0.98) per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(36.7) million, or $(0.67) per diluted share in the first six months of 2013.

Second Quarter 2014 Financial and Operating Results

Total Sales

Total sales for the second quarter of 2014 decreased by 10.0% year-over-year to $588.0 million, compared with $653.7 million in the second quarter of 2013. The year-over-year sales decreases were due to decreases in both average selling price of rebar and sales volume.

• Total sales volume in the second quarter of 2014 was 1.31 million metric tons, a decrease of 5.7% compared with 1.38 million metric tons in the second quarter of 2013.
• The average selling price of rebar at Longmen Joint Venture in the second quarter of 2014 decreased to approximately $450.0 per metric ton, down by 6.8% from $482.7 per metric ton in the second quarter of 2013.

Gross Profit/Loss

Gross profit for the second quarter of 2014 was $28.1 million, or 4.8% of total sales, as compared with a gross loss of $(35.5) million, or (5.4%) of total sales in the second quarter of 2013. The 1,020 basis points improvement in gross margin during the quarter was mainly attributable to decreased unit costs of rebar manufactured.

Operating Expenses and Operating Income/Loss

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the second quarter of 2014 were $18.8 million, a decrease of 9.6% from $20.8 million in the second quarter of 2013. Driven by effective headcount expense control, general and administrative expenses decreased to $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2014, compared with $11.6 million in the second quarter of 2013. Selling expenses was $9.7 million in the second quarter of 2014, slighted increased from $9.3 million in the same period of 2013. The increase in selling expenses was mainly due to the increase in freight expenses as a result of the PRC government's policy to increase freight train fees in early 2014.

Other operating loss from change in the fair value of profit sharing liability during the second quarter of 2014 was $(2.9) million, compared with a gain of $9.5 million recognized in the same period of last year. The loss recognized from change in the fair value of profit sharing liability was primarily due to the amortization of the present value discount.

Correspondingly, income from operations for the second quarter of 2014 was $6.3 million, an improvement of $53.2 million compared with loss from operations of $(46.9) million for the second quarter of 2013.

Finance Expense

Finance and interest expense in the second quarter of 2014 was $26.6 million, of which, $5.7 million was the non-cash interest expense on capital lease as compared with $5.1 million in the same period of 2013, and $20.9 million was the interest expense on bank loans and discounted note receivables as compared with $16.1 million in the same period of 2013. The increase in finance and interest expenses was mainly a result of higher finance costs charged by banks and more of the early redemption on note receivables.

Net Loss and Net Loss per Share

Net loss attributable to General Steel for the second quarter of 2014 narrowed $(11.0) million, or $(0.20) per diluted share, based on 55.8 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares to a net loss of $(39.8) million, or $(0.72) per diluted share, based on 55.0 million weighted average shares outstanding in the second quarter of 2013.

First Six Months 2014 Financial and Operating Results

Total Sales

Total sales for the first six months of 2014 decreased by 9.4% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, compared with $1.3 billion in the first six months of 2013. The year-over-year sales decreases were due to decreases in both average selling price of rebar and sales volume.

• Total sales volume in the first six months of 2014 was 2.62 million metric tons, a decrease of 2.4% compared with 2.69 million metric tons in the first six months of 2013.
• The average selling price of rebar at Longmen Joint Venture in the first six months of 2014 decreased to approximately $450.4 per metric ton, down by 9.6% from $498.4 per metric ton in the first six months of 2013.

Gross Profit/Loss

Gross profit for the first six months of 2014 was $5.5 million, or 0.5% of total sales, as compared with a gross loss of $(31.5) million, or (2.4%) of total sales in the first six months of 2013.

Operating Expenses and Operating Loss

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first six months of 2014 were $39.9 million, slightly increased from $39.8 million in the first six months of 2013. General and administrative expenses were $21.9 million, compared with $22.5 million in the same period of 2013. Selling expenses increased by 4.1% to $18.0 million, compared to $17.3 million in the same period of 2013.

Other operating loss from change in the fair value of profit sharing liability during the first six months of 2014 was $(3.0) million, compared with a gain of $56.3 million in the same period of last year.

Correspondingly, loss from operations for the first six months of 2014 was $(37.3) million, compared with loss from operations of $(15.0) million for the first six months of 2013.

Finance Expense

Finance and interest expense in the first six months of 2014 was $55.3 million, of which, $10.7 million was the non-cash interest expense on capital lease as compared with $10.2 million in the same period of 2013, and $44.6 million was the interest expense on bank loans and discounted note receivables as compared with $35.9 million in the first six months of 2013.

Net Loss and Net Loss per Share

Net loss attributable to General Steel for the first six months of 2014 was $(54.6) million, or $(0.98) per diluted share, based on 55.8 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares to a net loss of $(36.7) million, or $(0.67) per diluted share, based on 54.9 million weighted average shares outstanding in the first six months of 2013.

Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2014, the Company had cash and restricted cash of approximately $492.9 million, compared to $431.3 million as of December 31, 2013. The Company had an inventory balance of $209.0 million as of June 30, 2014, compared to $212.9 million as of December 31, 2013.

Business Outlook

For the six months ending December 31, 2014, the Company reiterates that it currently projects:

• Sales to range from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, on sales volume of approximately 3 million metric tons;
• Net income attributable to the Company to range from $4.5 million to $6.5 million; and
• EPS attributable to the Company to range from $0.08 to $0.12.

Conference Call and Webcast:

General Steel will hold a corresponding conference call and live webcast at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 14, 2014 (which corresponds to 8:00 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Thursday, August 14, 2014) to discuss the results and answer questions from investors. Listeners may access the call by dialing:

The call will also be available as a live, listen-only Webcast under the "Events and Presentations" page on the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's Website at http://www.corpasia.net/us/GSI/irwebsite/index.php?mod=event. Following the live Webcast, an online archive of the Webcast will be available for 90 days.

About General Steel Holdings, Inc.

General Steel Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China, produces a variety of steel products including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. The Company has operations in China's Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality, with seven million metric tons of crude steel production capacity under management. For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.

To be added to the General Steel email list to receive Company news, or to request a hard copy of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, please send your request to [email protected].

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial, political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable operations, including whether its management will be able to identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c) whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary requirements for cash; and (e) other risks, including those disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact Us

General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Joyce Sung
Tel: +1-347-534-1435
Email: [email protected]

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Carene Toh
Tel: +1-888-957-3362
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE General Steel Holdings, Inc.