Schnitzer Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Results

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) today reported results for its first quarter of fiscal 2021 ended November 30, 2020.

First Quarter Fiscal 2021 Highlights

• Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.50, more than triple earnings per share of $0.14 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, and compared to a diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $(0.26) in the first quarter of fiscal 2020
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.57, more than double adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.23 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, and compared to an adjusted diluted loss per share of $(0.17) in the first quarter of fiscal 2020
• Net income increased to $15 million, a strong increase compared to net income of $5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and a net loss of $(7) million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020
• Adjusted EBITDA of $40 million in the quarter, a strong improvement compared to adjusted EBITDA of $28 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and $10 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020

The Company’s performance benefited from strong market demand for recycled metals and finished steel products, as well as from the execution of commercial initiatives and productivity improvements enabled by the full transition to the One Schnitzer functionally-based operating model. Markets strengthened during the quarter, with domestic ferrous selling prices returning to pre-COVID levels and nonferrous and export ferrous selling prices reaching multi-year highs by the end of the quarter. The West Coast finished steel markets also continued to demonstrate resilience.

Tamara Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We were very pleased with our first quarter results, which reflect our second highest first quarter operating income in the last ten years. This strong performance reflects the resiliency of our operations and the agility of our team in leveraging positive market conditions while delivering on our productivity and operational efficiency initiatives and continuing to execute on our longer-term strategic initiatives. Our transition to a functionally-based One Schnitzer model is complete, and our improved first quarter results reflect the benefits of this more efficient structure. We believe that our strategic investments in advanced metal recovery technologies will further enhance our operational efficiencies, and we expect to complete construction of these projects by the end of this fiscal year.”

Ms. Lundgren continued, “There are many trends that support strong and sustainable ferrous and nonferrous scrap demand. The recent sharp increases in prices have been driven by low inventory levels after many quarters of de-stocking, followed by significantly higher steel mill and smelter buy plans and production levels, the transition to lower carbon technologies, and the prospect of China’s re-emergence as an importer in the global ferrous scrap market. In a world that is seeking de-carbonization, we expect recycled scrap metal to be an increasingly important metals carbon solution and for demand to accelerate.”

 

First Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Review and Analysis

Higher average selling prices and a strong focus on productivity improvements led to an expansion in metal spreads and operating margins, reflected in net income per ferrous ton of $14 and adjusted EBITDA per ferrous ton of $38 in the quarter, both of which reflect a strong sequential increase from $4 and $27, respectively.

On a sequential basis, ferrous sales volumes were down 1%. Nonferrous sales volumes were down 13%, as sales volumes in the previous quarter partially benefited from the timing of shipments. Both average ferrous and nonferrous net selling prices were up 14%. Average pricing for the quarter reflected the timing of shipments and orders made earlier in the quarter. Finished steel sales volumes were down 3% and rolling mill utilization in the quarter was 97%. Average net selling prices for finished steel products were flat.

The first quarter of fiscal 2021 had negative operating cash flow of $(7) million, as cash flows associated with profitability were more than offset by an increase in working capital due to the timing of the annual cash payment of incentive compensation accrued in fiscal 2020 and the impact of the higher scrap price environment. Total debt at the end of the quarter was $143 million and debt, net of cash, was $136 million (for a reconciliation of adjusted results and debt, net of cash, to U.S. GAAP, see the table provided in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section). The Company has a revolving credit facility of $700 million and CAD$15 million that matures in 2023. The Company’s effective tax rate for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 was an expense of 27%.

During the first quarter, the Company returned capital to shareholders through its 107th consecutive quarterly dividend. Capital expenditures were $32 million in the quarter, including investments in maintaining the business, environmental projects, advanced metal recovery technologies and other growth projects.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.1875 per common share, payable February 1, 2021 to shareholders of record on January 18, 2021. Schnitzer has paid a dividend every quarter since going public in November 1993.

Analysts’ Conference Call: First Quarter of Fiscal 2021

A conference call and slide presentation to discuss results will be held today, January 7, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern and will be hosted by Tamara L. Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Richard Peach, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. The call and the slide presentation will be webcast and accessible on the Company’s website under Company > Investors > Event Calendar at www.schnitzersteel.com/events.

Summary financial data is provided in the following pages. The slide presentation and related materials will be available prior to the call on the above website.

About Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in North America with operating facilities located in 23 states, Puerto Rico and Western Canada. Schnitzer has seven deep water export facilities located on both the East and West Coasts and in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The Company’s integrated operating platform also includes 50 stores which sell serviceable used auto parts from salvaged vehicles and receive approximately 5 million annual retail visits. The Company’s steel manufacturing operations produce finished steel products, including rebar, wire rod and other specialty products. The Company began operations in 1906 in Portland, Oregon.

 

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains performance based on adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations attributable to SSI shareholders, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per ferrous ton which are non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided a reconciliation of these measures for each period discussed to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure. Management believes that providing these non-GAAP financial measures adds a meaningful presentation of our results from business operations excluding adjustments for charges for legacy environmental matters (net of recoveries), business development costs not related to ongoing operations, restructuring charges and other exit-related activities, asset impairment charges and the income tax expense (benefit) allocated to these adjustments, items which are not related to underlying business operational performance, and improves the period-to-period comparability of our results from business operations. We believe that presenting debt, net of cash is useful to investors as a measure of our leverage, as cash and cash equivalents can be used, among other things, to repay indebtedness. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements and information included in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except as noted herein or as the context may otherwise require, all references in this press release to “we,” “our,” “us,” “the Company” and “SSI” refer to Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding future events or our expectations, intentions, beliefs and strategies regarding the future, which may include statements regarding the impact of pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic; the Company’s outlook, growth initiatives or expected results or objectives, including pricing, margins, sales volumes and profitability; liquidity positions; our ability to generate cash from continuing operations; trends, cyclicality and changes in the markets we sell into; strategic direction or goals; targets; changes to manufacturing and production processes; the realization of deferred tax assets; planned capital expenditures; the cost of and the status of any agreements or actions related to our compliance with environmental and other laws; expected tax rates, deductions and credits; the impact of sanctions and tariffs, quotas and other trade actions and import restrictions; the potential impact of adopting new accounting pronouncements; obligations under our retirement plans; benefits, savings or additional costs from business realignment, cost containment and productivity improvement programs; and the adequacy of accruals.

Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as “outlook,” “target,” “aim,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “assumes,” “estimates,” “evaluates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “opinions,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “plans,” “future,” “forward,” “potential,” “probable,” and similar expressions. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

We may make other forward-looking statements from time to time, including in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, presentations and on public conference calls. All forward-looking statements we make are based on information available to us at the time the statements are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Our business is subject to the effects of changes in domestic and global economic conditions and a number of other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of Part I of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Examples of these risks include: the impact of pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; potential environmental cleanup costs related to the Portland Harbor Superfund site or other locations; the cyclicality and impact of general economic conditions; changing conditions in global markets including the impact of sanctions and tariffs, quotas and other trade actions and import restrictions; volatile supply and demand conditions affecting prices and volumes in the markets for raw materials and other inputs we purchase; significant decreases in scrap metal prices; imbalances in supply and demand conditions in the global steel industry; the impact of goodwill impairment charges; the impact of long-lived asset and equity investment impairment charges; failure to realize or delays in realizing expected benefits from investments in processing and manufacturing technology improvements; inability to achieve or sustain the benefits from productivity, cost savings and restructuring initiatives; inability to renew facility leases; difficulties associated with acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; customer fulfillment of their contractual obligations; increases in the relative value of the U.S. dollar; the impact of foreign currency fluctuations; potential limitations on our ability to access capital resources and existing credit facilities; restrictions on our business and financial covenants under the agreement governing our bank credit facilities; the impact of consolidation in the steel industry; reliance on third party shipping companies, including with respect to freight rates and the availability of transportation; the impact of equipment upgrades, equipment failures and facility damage on production; product liability claims; the impact of legal proceedings and legal compliance; the adverse impact of climate change; the impact of not realizing deferred tax assets; the impact of tax increases and changes in tax rules; the impact of property tax increases or property tax rate changes; the impact of one or more cybersecurity incidents; environmental compliance costs and potential environmental liabilities; inability to obtain or renew business licenses and permits; compliance with climate change and greenhouse gas emission laws and regulations; reliance on employees subject to collective bargaining agreements; and the impact of the underfunded status of multiemployer plans in which we participate.