U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2015 Results

FREDERICK, Md., Oct. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) today announced net income of $2.4 million or $0.05 per basic share and $0.04 per diluted share for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2015 compared with net income of $41.3 million or $0.77 per basic share and $0.76 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2014. The third quarter earnings per share included a tax benefit of $0.09 per share, which was the result of an update to the estimated annual effective tax rate, excluding discrete items, from 0% to (16)%. Excluding the tax benefit, business development related expenses and restructuring costs for actions designed to help bring the business more in line with current market conditions, EPS was $(0.03) per basic share.

''We took decisive actions during the quarter to profitably sell higher volume in our Oil and Gas business and take share,'' said Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer. However, he cautioned that "we expect to see a decline sequentially in volumes and margins in our Oil and Gas business as drilling and completion activity is expected to slow down significantly in the fourth quarter."

Commenting on the industrial and specialty products segment, Shinn said, "ISP had a record quarter for contribution margin as it continues to benefit from strong end markets like building products and automotive and the introduction of new, higher margin products. Our industrial business is on track for possibly the best year in its 115-year history and is a testament to the strength of our corporate model, with two complementary business units, which serves us well through a wide variety of economic cycles and market conditions,'' he added.

Third Quarter 2015 Highlights

Total Company

• Revenue totaled $155.4 million compared with $241.3 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 36% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 5% sequentially from the second quarter of 2015.
• Overall tons sold totaled 2.6 million, down 12% compared with 3.0 million tons sold in the third quarter of 2014 and an increase of 16% sequentially from the second quarter of 2015.
• Contribution margin for the quarter was $36.5 million, down 61% compared with $93.9 million in the same period of the prior year and an increase of 11% sequentially from the second quarter of 2015.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $24.0 million compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $77.5 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 69% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 2% sequentially from the second quarter of 2015.
• Income tax benefit of $4.7 million represented the cumulative adjustment during the quarter to reflect the updated estimated annual effective tax rate.

Oil and Gas

• Revenue for the quarter totaled $102.0 million compared with $186.8 million in the same period in 2014, a decrease of 45% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 12% sequentially from the second quarter of 2015.
• Tons sold totaled 1.6 million, a decrease of 15% compared with 1.9 million tons sold in the third quarter of 2014 and an increase of 32% sequentially compared with the tons sold in the second quarter of 2015.
• 61% of tons were sold in basin compared with 67% sold in basin in the third quarter of 2014.
• Segment contribution margin was $16.5 million versus $77.0 million in the third quarter of 2014, a decrease of 79% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 25% sequentially compared with the second quarter of 2015.

Industrial and Specialty Products

• Revenue for the quarter totaled $53.4 million compared with $54.4 million for the same period in 2014, a decrease of 2% on a year-over-year basis and a 6% decrease on a sequential basis from the second quarter of 2015.
• Tons sold totaled 1.0 million, a decrease of 8% on a year-over-year basis and down 3% on a sequential basis compared with the second quarter of 2015.
• Segment contribution margin was $20.0 million compared with $16.8 million in the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 19% on a year-over-year basis and up 2% sequentially compared with the second quarter of 2015.

Capital Update

As of Sept. 30, 2015, the Company had $299.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and short term investments and $46.9 million available under its credit facilities. Total debt at Sept. 30, 2015 was $492.5 million. Capital expenditures in the third quarter totaled $11.0 million and were associated largely with the Company's investments in various maintenance, expansion and cost improvement projects.

Outlook and Guidance

Due to the current lack of visibility in its Oil and Gas business, the Company will continue to refrain from providing guidance for Adjusted EBITDA until such time as we can gain more clarity around our customers' business activity levels and the associated demand for our products. Based on current market conditions, the Company anticipates that its capital expenditures for 2015 will be in the range of $50 million to $55 million.

Conference Call

U.S. Silica will host a conference call for investors tomorrow, Oct. 28, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. Hosting the call will be Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer and Don Merril, vice president and chief financial officer. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing (877) 869-3847 or for international callers, (201) 689-8261.  A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853. The conference ID number for the replay is 13621833. The replay of the call will be available through Nov. 27, 2015.

About U.S. Silica

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., a member of the Russell 2000, is a leading producer of commercial silica used in the oil and gas industry, and in a wide range of industrial applications. Over its 115-year history, U.S. Silica has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 260 products to customers across our end markets. The Company currently operates nine industrial sand production plants and eight oil and gas sand production plants. The Company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland and also has offices located in Chicago, Illinois, Houston, Texas and Shanghai, China. The Company operates on a platform of ethics, safety and sustainability. U.S. Silica is a founding member of Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association (WISA) and has been recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) as a partner in the WDNR Green Tier program. In becoming a Green Tier participant, U.S. Silica demonstrates its commitment to achieving superior environmental and economic performance.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and speak only as of this date. Forward-looking statements made include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding U.S. Silica's growth opportunities, strategy, future financial results, forecasts, projections, plans and capital expenditures, and the commercial silica industry. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are: (1) fluctuations in demand for commercial silica; (2) the cyclical nature of our customers' businesses; (3) operating risks that are beyond our control; (4) federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing; (5) our ability to implement our capacity expansion plans within our current timetable and budget; (6) loss of, or reduction in, business from our largest customers or failure of our customers to pay amounts due to us; (7) increasing costs or a lack of dependability or availability of transportation services or infrastructure; (8) our substantial indebtedness and pension obligations; (9) our ability to attract and retain key personnel; (10) silica-related health issues and corresponding litigation; (11) seasonal and severe weather conditions; and (12) extensive and evolving environmental, mining, health and safety, licensing, reclamation and other regulation (and changes in their enforcement or interpretation). Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in U.S. Silica's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Segment Contribution Margin

Segment contribution margin is a key metric that management uses to evaluate our operating performance and to determine resource allocation between segments. Segment contribution margin excludes certain corporate costs not associated with the operations of the segment. These unallocated costs include costs related to corporate functional areas such as sales, production and engineering, corporate purchasing, accounting, treasury, information technology, legal and human resources.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of income before income taxes, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to segment contribution margin.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income as a measure of operating performance, cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management's discretionary use, as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Adjusted EBITDA contains certain other limitations, including the failure to reflect our cash expenditures, cash requirements for working capital needs and cash costs to replace assets being depreciated and amortized, and excludes certain non-recurring charges that may recur in the future. Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the methods of calculation.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:

Investor Contact:
Michael Lawson
Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(301) 682-0304
[email protected]  

SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.ussilica.com