LSB Industries, Inc. Reports Operating Results for the 2020 Fourth Quarter

OKLAHOMA CITY--()--LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE: LXU) (“LSB” or the “Company”) today announced results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Highlights

  • Record total recordable injury rate (TRIR) of 1.06 for 2020, an improvement of 58% compared to 2019
  • Net sales of $88.9 million reflects a 31% increase from stronger sales volumes, partially offset by a 11% decrease from weaker pricing relative to the prior year fourth quarter
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $10.4 million reflects a $16.3 million benefit from stronger production and sales volumes, partially offset by a $9.6 million net impact from weaker pricing and $2.2 million from COVID-19’s impact on demand, relative to the prior year fourth quarter
  • Full year production volume records for ammonia of 827,000 tons and for UAN of 501,000 tons
  • 64% increase in fertilizer sales volumes, including a 105% increase in UAN sales volumes, versus the fourth quarter of 2019
  • Total liquidity of approximately $58 million as of December 31, 2020

“We delivered fourth quarter 2020 results largely in-line with our expectations headed into the period,” stated Mark Behrman, LSB Industries’ President and CEO. “Our substantial year-over-year increase in production volume more than offset the continued pricing headwinds on fertilizer sales and the pandemic-related impact on industrial and mining demand that we experienced during the quarter. Despite the challenges we faced across our end markets, we still generated a 44% year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA for the period.”

“The fourth quarter capped off our best year of operating performance across our three facilities in our company’s history. We delivered record production volumes for ammonia and UAN for full year 2020, reflecting a return on the investments we’ve made in plant reliability and product upgrading capabilities over the last several years as well as our focus on continuous improvement in our manufacturing operations. We also benefitted from the absence of any turnaround activity in 2020 as compared to 2019. Overall, we were pleased with the performance of our plants in 2020 and believe that we will generate further improvement in operating rates and production volumes in 2021.”

Mr. Behrman continued, “Favorable dynamics for U.S. agriculture have translated into higher prices for a variety of crops, including corn, wheat and cotton, which has prompted an increase in demand and selling prices for fertilizers. In fact, since mid-January we have seen a significant increase in selling prices for all the nitrogen fertilizers we sell. We expect that the benefit of these higher selling prices will have some impact on our first quarter financial results and be fully reflected in our second quarter. Regarding our industrial business, we have seen a steady rebound in demand since the lows experienced in the early part of the pandemic. However, many sectors are not yet operating at pre-pandemic levels and while we don’t expect that to significantly impact our industrial sales volumes due to our strong sales efforts, it is still putting selling price pressure on certain of our products. We are hopeful that as COVID-19 vaccines are increasingly distributed, overall demand in the marketplace will get back to pre-pandemic levels putting less pressure on selling prices on certain products.”

Mr. Behrman concluded, “Regarding our outlook for 2021, we expect to deliver year-over-year improvement in production and sales volumes which we believe will translate into improved adjusted EBITDA and cash flow for the year. We believe that with the strengthening of fertilizer market dynamics, our anticipated improvement in our financial performance and the current favorable credit market environment, we will have an opportunity to refinance our existing debt at more favorable terms, which would provide us with greater financial flexibility to pursue growth initiatives. “

“Lastly, consistent with the global focus on reducing carbon emissions, we are currently working on developing a strategy to enter the clean energy market through the production of “green ammonia.” We view this as a growth platform for our business and believe that current ammonia producers are best positioned to be leaders in this market as it develops, due to our ability to leverage our existing knowledge in ammonia manufacturing, handling, storage and logistics. We are very excited about the opportunities ahead of us in 2021 and look forward to providing updates on key initiatives and developments as we move through the year.”

(1) This is a Non-GAAP measure. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation section.

Three Months Ended December 31,

2020

2019

 

(Dollars in thousands)

 

Net Sales by Market Sector

Net Sales

Sector Mix

Net Sales

Sector Mix

% Change

   Agricultural

 

$

41,595

    

   47

%

 

$

32,851

   

 45

%

 

27

%

   Industrial

 

 

 35,887

      

   40

%

 

 

34,064

 

 46

%

 

5

%

   Mining

 

 

 11,421

 

   13

%

 

 

6,981

 

   9

%

 

 64

%

$

88,903

$

73,896

 20

%

Comparison of 2020 to 2019 quarterly periods:

  • Net sales of our agricultural products increased during the quarter relative to the prior year period driven by stronger volumes for all of our products, particularly UAN, which benefited from higher production at our Pryor facility resulting from the installation of a new Urea reactor in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the absence of turnaround activity in the 2020 fourth quarter compared to the prior year period; in November of 2019, Pryor was down for two weeks as a turnaround was concluded. Partially offsetting the increased production volume was continued weaker pricing for HDAN, UAN and agricultural ammonia.
  • Net sales of our industrial and mining products, other than Nitric acid, increased modestly as several key end markets for our products, including automotive, home building, power generation, and mining markets have been gradually recovering, although not yet reaching pre-pandemic levels. Nitric Acid sales continue to be impacted by pandemic related market weakness.
  • The year-over-year change in operating loss and adjusted EBITDA was primarily the result of the higher volumes and improved fixed cost absorption partially offset by weaker selling prices, particularly for agricultural products.

The following tables provide key sales metrics for our Agricultural products:

 

 

Three Months Ended December 31,

Product (tons sold)

 

2020

 

2019

 

% Change

Urea ammonium nitrate (UAN)

 

131,665

 

64,298

 

105

%

High density ammonium nitrate (HDAN)

 

70,987

 

58,603

 

21

%

Ammonia

 

28,293

 

17,071

 

66

%

Other

 

2,997

 

2,516

 

19

%

 

 

233,942

 

142,488

 

64

%

Average Selling Prices (price per ton) (A)

 

 

 

 

 

 

UAN

 

$

132

 

$

161

 

(18

)%

HDAN

 

$

159

 

$

201

 

(21

)%

Ammonia

 

$

210

 

$

253

 

(17

)%

(A) Average selling prices represent “net back” prices which are calculated as sales less freight expenses divided by product sales volume in tons.

The following table indicates the volumes sold of our major Industrial products:

 

 

Three Months Ended December 31,

Product (tons sold)

 

2020

 

2019

 

% Change

Ammonia

 

 

68,483

 

 

64,868

 

6

%

Nitric acid

 

 

29,270

 

 

29,594

 

(1

)%

Other Industrial Products

 

 

14,369

 

 

9,839

 

46

%

 

 

 

112,122

 

 

104,301

 

7

%

 

Tampa Ammonia Benchmark (price per metric ton)

$

239

$

255

(6

)%

The following table indicates the volumes sold of our major Mining products:

 

 

Three Months Ended December 31,

Product (tons sold)

 

2020

 

2019

 

% Change

LDAN/HDAN/AN solution

 

 

44,970

 

 

29,015

 

55

%

Input Costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average natural gas cost/MMBtu

 

$

2.46

 

$

2.47

 

0

%

Financial Position and Capital Expenditures

As of December 31, 2020, our total cash position was $16.3 million. Additionally, we had approximately $41.8 million of borrowing availability under our Working Capital Revolver giving us total liquidity of approximately $58.0 million. Total long-term debt, including the current portion, was $484.2 million at December 31, 2020 compared to $459.0 million at December 31, 2019. The increase in long-term debt primarily reflects the refinance of ammonia storage assets completed during the third quarter. The aggregate liquidation value of the Series E Redeemable Preferred at December 31, 2020, inclusive of accrued dividends of $138.2 million, was $278.0 million.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $12.6 million compared to $12.1 million for the same period in 2019.

Capital expenditures were approximately $8.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. For the full year of 2021, total capital expenditures related to capital work to be performed in 2021 are expected to be approximately $30 million, inclusive of investments for margin enhancement purposes.

Volume Outlook

The Company’s outlook for sales volumes for the full year 2021 are as follows:

Products

Full Year 2021 Sales*

(tons)

Full Year Actual

2020 Sales (tons)

Agriculture:

 

 

UAN

480,000 – 500,000

499,000

HDAN

280,000 – 300,000

293,000

Ammonia

70,000 – 90,000

97,000

 

 

 

Industrial, Mining and Other:

 

 

Ammonia

240,000 – 260,000

269,000

AN, Nitric, and Other

400,000 – 420,000

303,000

Sulfuric Acid

145,000 – 165,000

146,000

*2021 sales volumes forecast reflects turnaround of approximately 30 days for the Cherokee facility during the third quarter versus no turnarounds at any of the three facilities in 2020.

Conference Call

LSB’s management will host a conference call covering the fourth quarter results on Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET/9:00 a.m. CT to discuss these results and recent corporate developments. Participating in the call will be President & Chief Executive Officer, Mark Behrman and Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Cheryl Maguire. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing (201) 493-6739. Please call in 10 minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin and ask for the LSB conference call. To coincide with the conference call, LSB will post a slide presentation at www.lsbindustries.com on the webcast section of the Investor tab of our website.

To listen to a webcast of the call, please go to the Company’s website at www.lsbindustries.com at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to download and install any necessary audio software. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call webcast will be archived on the Company’s website.

LSB Industries, Inc.

LSB Industries, Inc., headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, manufactures and sells chemical products for the agricultural, mining, and industrial markets. The Company owns and operates facilities in Cherokee, Alabama, El Dorado, Arkansas and Pryor, Oklahoma, and operates a facility for a global chemical company in Baytown, Texas. LSB’s products are sold through distributors and directly to end customers primarily throughout the United States and parts of Mexico and Canada. Additional information about the Company can be found on its website at www.lsbindustries.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and anticipated performance based on our growth and other strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or actual achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or anticipated achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Significant risks and uncertainties may relate to, but are not limited to, business and market disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, market conditions and price volatility for our products and feedstocks, as well as global and regional economic downturns, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, that adversely affect the demand for our end-use products; disruptions in production at our manufacturing facilities; and other financial, economic, competitive, environmental, political, legal and regulatory factors. These and other risk factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can management assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information or future developments.

See Accompanying Tables

 

LSB Industries, Inc.

Financial Highlights

Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31,

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

2020

 

2019

 

 

(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)

Net sales

 

$

88,903

 

 

$

73,896

 

 

$

351,316

 

 

$

365,070

 

Cost of sales

 

 

92,368

 

 

 

86,173

 

 

 

334,268

 

 

 

360,085

 

Gross profit (loss)

 

 

(3,465

)

 

 

(12,277

)

 

 

17,048

 

 

 

4,985

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative expense

 

 

6,506

 

 

 

9,467

 

 

 

32,084

 

 

 

34,172

 

Other expense, net

 

 

259

 

 

 

9,532

 

 

 

499

 

 

 

9,904

 

Operating loss

 

 

(10,230

)

 

 

(31,276

)

 

 

(15,535

)

 

 

(39,091

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

12,606

 

 

 

12,080

 

 

 

51,115

 

 

 

46,389

 

Non-operating other expense (income), net

 

 

597

 

 

 

(534

)

 

 

10

 

 

 

(1,139

)

Loss before benefit for income taxes

 

 

(23,433

)

 

 

(42,822

)

 

 

(66,660

)

 

 

(84,341

)

Benefit for income taxes

 

 

(1,741

)

 

 

(15,108

)

 

 

(4,749

)

 

 

(20,924

)

Net loss

 

 

(21,692

)

 

 

(27,714

)

 

 

(61,911

)

 

 

(63,417

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends on convertible preferred stocks

 

 

75

 

 

 

75

 

 

 

300

 

 

 

300

 

Dividends on Series E redeemable preferred stock

 

 

9,297

 

 

 

8,120

 

 

 

35,182

 

 

 

30,729

 

Accretion of Series E redeemable preferred stock

 

 

509

 

 

 

502

 

 

 

2,026

 

 

 

1,995

 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

 

$

(31,573

)

 

$

(36,411

)

 

$

(99,419

)

 

$

(96,441

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and dilutive net loss per common share

 

$

(1.12

)

 

$

(1.30

)

 

$

(3.53

)

 

$

(3.44

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LSB Industries, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

 

(In Thousands)

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

16,264

 

 

$

22,791

 

Accounts receivable

 

 

42,929

 

 

 

40,203

 

Allowance for doubtful accounts

 

 

(378

)

 

 

(261

)

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

42,551

 

 

 

39,942

 

Inventories:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished goods

 

 

17,778

 

 

 

21,738

 

Raw materials

 

 

1,795

 

 

 

1,573

 

Total inventories

 

 

19,573

 

 

 

23,311

 

Supplies, prepaid items and other:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid insurance

 

 

12,315

 

 

 

11,837

 

Precious metals

 

 

6,787

 

 

 

5,568

 

Supplies

 

 

25,288

 

 

 

24,689

 

Other

 

 

6,802

 

 

 

2,735

 

Total supplies, prepaid items and other

 

 

51,192

 

 

 

44,829

 

Total current assets

 

 

129,580

 

 

 

130,873

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment, net

 

 

891,198

 

 

 

936,474

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease assets

 

 

26,403

 

 

 

15,330

 

Intangible and other assets, net

 

 

6,121

 

 

 

5,812

 

 

 

 

32,524

 

 

 

21,142

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

1,053,302

 

 

$

1,088,489

 

 

LSB Industries, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (continued)

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

 

(In Thousands)

 

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

46,551

 

 

$

58,477

 

Short-term financing

 

 

13,576

 

 

 

9,929

 

Accrued and other liabilities

 

 

30,367

 

 

 

25,484

 

Current portion of long-term debt

 

 

16,801

 

 

 

9,410

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

107,295

 

 

 

103,300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt, net

 

 

467,389

 

 

 

449,634

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent operating lease liabilities

 

 

19,845

 

 

 

11,404

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other noncurrent accrued and other liabilities

 

 

6,090

 

 

 

6,214

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes

 

 

30,939

 

 

 

35,717

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable preferred stocks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series E 14% cumulative, redeemable Class C preferred stock, no par value,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

210,000 shares issued; 139,768 outstanding; aggregate liquidation preference

of $277,982,000 ($242,800,000 at December 31, 2019)

272,101

234,893

Series F redeemable Class C preferred stock, no par value, 1 share issued

 

 

 

 

 

 

and outstanding; aggregate liquidation preference of $100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series B 12% cumulative, convertible preferred stock, $100 par value; 20,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shares issued and outstanding; aggregate liquidation preference

of $3,265,000 ($3,025,000 at December 31, 2019)

2,000

2,000

Series D 6% cumulative, convertible Class C preferred stock, no par value;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,000,000 shares issued and outstanding; aggregate liquidation preference

of $1,312,000 ($1,252,000 at December 31, 2019)

1,000

1,000

Common stock, $.10 par value; 75,000,000 shares authorized,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31,283,210 shares issued (31,283,210 shares at December 31, 2019)

3,128

3,128

Capital in excess of par value

 

 

198,215

 

 

 

196,833

 

Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)

 

 

(41,487

)

 

 

57,632

 

 

 

 

162,856

 

 

 

260,593

 

Less treasury stock, at cost:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock, 2,074,565 shares (2,009,566 shares at December 31, 2019)

 

 

13,213

 

 

 

13,266

 

Total stockholders' equity

 

 

149,643

 

 

 

247,327

 

 

 

$

1,053,302

 

 

$

1,088,489

 

 

LSB Industries, Inc.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation

This news release includes certain “non-GAAP financial measures” under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Regulation G. These non-GAAP measures are calculated using GAAP amounts in our consolidated financial statements.

EBITDA Reconciliation

EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus interest expense, plus loss on extinguishment of debt, plus depreciation and amortization (D&A) (which includes D&A of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible and other assets), plus provision for income taxes. We believe that certain investors consider EBITDA a useful means of measuring our ability to meet our debt service obligations and evaluating our financial performance. EBITDA has limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flow from operations or other consolidated income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of EBITDA may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to EBITDA for the periods indicated.

LSB Consolidated ($ in thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

 

Twelve Months Ended December 31,

 

2020

 

 

 

2019

 

 

 

2020

 

 

 

2019

 

 

Net loss

$

(21,692

)

 

$

(27,714

)

 

$

(61,911

)

 

$

(63,417

)

Plus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

 

12,606

 

 

 

12,080

 

 

 

51,115

 

 

 

46,389

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

17,939

 

 

 

17,064

 

 

 

70,841

 

 

 

69,574

 

Benefit for income taxes

 

(1,741

)

 

 

(15,108

)

 

 

(4,749

)

 

 

(20,924

)

EBITDA

$

7,112

 

 

$

(13,678

)

 

$

55,296

 

 

$

31,622

 

 

LSB Industries, Inc.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (continued)

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is reported to show the impact of one time/non-cash or non-operating items-such as, loss (gain) on sale of a business and other property and equipment, one-time income or fees, certain fair market value (FMV) adjustments, non-cash stock-based compensation, and consulting costs associated with reliability and purchasing initiatives (Initiatives). We historically have performed Turnaround activities on an annual basis; however, we have moved towards extending Turnarounds to a two or three-year cycle. Rather than being capitalized and amortized over the period of benefit, our accounting policy is to recognize the costs as incurred. Given these Turnarounds are essentially investments that provide benefits over multiple years, they are not reflective of our operating performance in a given year. As a result, we believe it is more meaningful for investors to exclude them from our calculation of adjusted EBITDA used to assess our performance. We believe that the inclusion of supplementary adjustments to EBITDA is appropriate to provide additional information to investors about certain items. The following tables provide reconciliations of EBITDA excluding the impact of the supplementary adjustments.

LSB Consolidated ($ in thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

Twelve Months Ended December 31,

 

2020

 

 

 

2019

 

 

 

2020

 

 

 

2019

 

 

EBITDA:

$

7,112

 

 

$

(13,678

)

 

$

55,296

 

 

$

31,622

 

Stock-based compensation

 

134

 

 

 

421

 

 

 

1,761

 

 

 

2,220

 

Severance costs

 

 

 

 

615

 

 

 

 

 

 

615

 

Unrealized loss on commodity contracts

 

1,743

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,205

 

 

 

 

Legal fees (Leidos)

 

572

 

 

 

3,843

 

 

 

5,715

 

 

 

9,601

 

Loss on disposal of assets and other

 

312

 

 

 

10,564

 

 

 

921

 

 

 

11,221

 

FMV adjustment on preferred stock embedded derivatives

 

562

 

 

 

(437

)

 

 

(55

)

 

 

(558

)

Consulting costs associated with Initiatives

 

(20

)

 

 

502

 

 

 

558

 

 

 

1,414

 

Turnaround costs

 

31

 

 

 

5,373

 

 

 

76

 

 

 

13,210

 

Adjusted EBITDA

$

10,446

 

 

$

7,203

 

 

$

65,477

 

 

$

69,345

 

 

Agricultural Sales Price Reconciliation

The following table provides a reconciliation of total agricultural net sales as reported under GAAP in our consolidated financial statement reconciled to netback sales which is calculated as net sales less freight expenses. We believe this provides a relevant industry comparison among our peer group.

Three Months Ended December 31,

 

Twelve Months Ended December 31,

2020

 

2019

 

2020

 

2019

 

Agricultural net sales ($ in thousands)

$

41,595

 

$

32,851

 

$

180,036

 

$

187,641

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less freight

 

4,328

 

 

3,956

 

 

15,967

 

 

14,727

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agricultural netback sales

$

37,267

 

$

28,895

 

$

164,069

 

$

172,914

 

Contacts

Company Contact:
Mark Behrman, President & CEO
Cheryl Maguire, Executive Vice President & CFO
(405) 235-4546

Investor Contact: The Equity Group Inc.
Fred Buonocore, CFA (212) 836-9607
Mike Gaudreau (212) 836-9620

Contacts

Company Contact:
Mark Behrman, President & CEO
Cheryl Maguire, Executive Vice President & CFO
(405) 235-4546

Investor Contact: The Equity Group Inc.
Fred Buonocore, CFA (212) 836-9607
Mike Gaudreau (212) 836-9620