Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) (“Warrior” or the “Company”) today
announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. Warrior is
the leading dedicated U.S.-based producer and exporter of high quality
metallurgical (“met”) coal for the global steel industry.
Warrior reported second quarter 2018 net income of $91.3 million, or
$1.72 per diluted share, compared to second quarter 2017 net income
of $129.9 million, or $2.46 per diluted share. Excluding one-time
transaction and other expenses and incremental non-cash stock
compensation expense, adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter
2018 were $1.81 per diluted share. The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA
of $128.8 million for the second quarter 2018 compared to Adjusted
EBITDA of $188.5 million for the second quarter of 2017.
Year-to-date, Warrior reported net income of $270.0 million, or $5.10
per diluted share, compared to net income of $238.2 million, or $4.52
per diluted share, in the same period of 2017. Excluding one-time
transaction and other expenses and incremental non-cash stock
compensation expense, adjusted earnings per share year-to-date were
$5.24 per diluted share compared to the same period in 2017 of $4.73 per
diluted share. Year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA was $345.3 million compared
to $323.9 million in the same period of 2017.
“The market for high quality premium met coal continued to be robust in
the second quarter, though moderated somewhat from the exceptional
strength we have seen over the past year,” commented Walt Scheller, CEO
of Warrior. “Given the strength of our financial and operating results
in the first and second quarters, performance at our mines, ongoing
global GDP growth, and strong demand for steel production, we are
raising our guidance for the balance of the year. Warrior’s performance
clearly demonstrates the unique value of our highly focused business
strategy as a premium ‘pure-play’ met coal producer.”
Operating Results
The Company produced 1.9 million short tons of met coal in the second
quarter of 2018, roughly equivalent to the amount produced in the second
quarter of 2017. The actual production volume was better than expected
as the Company entered the second quarter with a scheduled shut down for
a week of maintenance at one of its mines. The Company continues to make
good progress toward its nameplate annual capacity of eight million
short tons. Halfway through the year, the Company produced and sold 4.0
million short tons of met coal without any longwall moves.
Total revenues were $322.6 million for the second quarter of 2018,
including $315.0 million in mining revenues, which consisted of met coal
sales of 1.9 million short tons at an average net selling price of $167
per short ton, net of demurrage and other charges. Average net selling
price declined 7.8% compared to the second quarter of 2017, reflecting
the higher met coal price environment last year due to Cyclone Debbie in
Australia. Warrior capitalized on the strong pricing environment in the
quarter by achieving a gross price realization of 100%. Since January
2018, the Company’s gross price realization has represented a volume
weighted-average calculation of the Company’s daily realized price per
ton based on gross sales, which excludes demurrage and other charges, as
a percentage of the Platts Premium Low Volatility (“LV”) Free-On-Board
(“FOB”) Australia Index price (the “Platts Index”).
Cost of sales for the second quarter of 2018 were $178.5 million, or
56.7% of mining revenues, and included mining costs, transportation and
royalty costs. Mining costs were higher in the second quarter of 2018
than in the same period last year primarily due to the continued ramp up
of mining activities and incremental costs associated with the scheduled
week of maintenance that was previously announced.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the second quarter of
2018 were $13.5 million, or 4.2% of total revenues, including $3.0
million of incremental non-cash stock compensation expense associated
with the vesting of shares in connection with the May secondary offering
that was not in the Company’s prior guidance. Transaction and other
expenses were $1.0 million in the second quarter of 2018 and were
related to the completion of the two secondary equity offerings by
certain existing stockholders discussed below. Depreciation and
depletion costs for the second quarter of 2018 were $21.1 million, or
6.5% of total revenues. Warrior incurred interest expense of $9.8
million during the second quarter of 2018. The Company did not incur any
income tax expense for the second quarter of 2018 due to its utilization
of its net operating losses (“NOLs”).
Cash Flow and Liquidity
The Company continued to generate strong cash flows from operating
activities in the second quarter of 2018 of $132.5 million, compared to
$161.4 million in the second quarter of 2017. Net working capital,
excluding cash, decreased by $16.0 million from the first quarter of
2018, primarily due to lower accounts receivable on lower sales volumes
and lower pricing. Capital expenditures for the second quarter of 2018
were $32.9 million, resulting in free cash flow of $99.6 million. Cash
flows used in financing activities increased by $363.1 million for the
quarter when compared to the prior year period primarily due to the
special dividend paid in April 2018 and the stock repurchase in
connection with the secondary equity offerings discussed below.
The Company’s available liquidity as of June 30, 2018 was $150.5
million, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $55.1 million and
$95.4 million of available borrowings under its Asset-Based Revolving
Credit Agreement, net of outstanding letters of credit of $4.6 million.
Company Outlook
In light of the Company’s successful performance in the first and second
quarters of 2018, its NOL carryforwards, and the expected market
conditions for the remainder of 2018, Warrior is increasing its guidance
for the full year 2018 as indicated below.
The Company’s guidance for capital expenditures consists of sustaining
capital spending of approximately $70 – $83 million, including
regulatory and gas requirements, and discretionary capital spending of
$30 – $37 million for various operational improvements.
The Company’s outlook is subject to many risks that may impact
performance, such as market conditions in the steel and met coal
industries, overall global economic and competitive conditions, all as
more fully described under “Forward-Looking Statements.”
Key factors that may affect the Company’s outlook
include:
The Company does not provide reconciliations of its outlook for cash
cost of sales (free-on-board port) to cost of sales in reliance on the
unreasonable efforts exception provided for under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of
Regulation S-K. The Company is unable, without unreasonable efforts, to
forecast certain items required to develop the meaningful comparable
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) cost of sales. These
items typically include non-cash asset retirement obligation accretion
expenses, mine idling expenses and other non-recurring indirect mining
expenses that are difficult to predict in advance in order to include a
GAAP estimate.
Special Dividend and Secondary Equity Offerings
On April 3, 2018, the Company used the net proceeds of its offering
of $125 million 8.00% Senior Secured Notes due 2024, together with cash
on hand, to declare a special cash dividend of approximately $6.53 per
share of Warrior’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, totaling an
aggregate payment of $350 million, which was paid on April 20, 2018, to
stockholders of record as of the close of business on April 13, 2018.
On May 10, 2018, an underwritten secondary offering of 8,000,000 shares
of the Company’s common stock by certain of the Company’s existing
stockholders, of which the Company repurchased from the underwriter
500,000 shares of common stock totaling $12.1 million, was consummated.
In addition, on June 14, 2018, an underwritten secondary offering of
5,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock by certain of the
Company’s existing stockholders was consummated. The Company did not
receive any proceeds from either secondary offering during the second
quarter.
Regular Quarterly Dividend
On July 24, 2018, the board of directors of the Company declared a
regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share, totaling
approximately $2.7 million, which will be paid on August 10, 2018 to
stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 3, 2018.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release contains the use of certain U.S. non-GAAP financial
measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental
information for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide
additional insights into the performance of the Company, and they
reflect how management analyzes Company performance and compares that
performance against other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures
may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other
entities. The definition of these non-GAAP financial measures and a
reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures are provided in
the financial tables section of this release.
Conference Call
The Company will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter
2018 results today, August 1, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. ET. To listen to the
event live or access an archived recording, please visit http://investors.warriormetcoal.com/.
Analysts and investors who would like to participate in the conference
call should dial 1-844-340-9047 (domestic) or 1-412-858-5206
(international) 10 minutes prior to the start time and reference the
Warrior conference call.
Telephone playback will also be available from 6:30 p.m. ET August 1,
2018 through 6:30 p.m. ET on August 8, 2018. The replay will be
available by calling: 1-877-344-7529 (domestic) or 1-412-317-0088
(international) and entering passcode 10120811.
About Warrior
Warrior is a large scale, low-cost U.S. based producer and exporter of
premium HCC, operating highly efficient longwall operations in its
underground mines located in Alabama. The HCC that Warrior produces from
the Blue Creek coal seam contains very low sulfur and has strong coking
properties and is of a similar quality to coal referred to as the
premium HCC produced in Australia. The premium nature of Warrior’s HCC
makes it ideally suited as a base feed coal for steel makers and results
in price realizations near the Platts Index. Warrior sells all its met
coal production to steel producers in Europe, South America and Asia.
For more information about Warrior, please visit www.warriormetcoal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, and the Company’s officers and
representatives may from time to time make, forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical
facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or
developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or
may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding sales and production growth, ability to maintain
cost structure, demand, the future direction of prices, expected capital
expenditures and future effective income tax rates. The words
“believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,”
“project,” “target,” “foresee,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,”
or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the
statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements
represent management’s good faith expectations, projections, guidance or
beliefs concerning future events, and it is possible that the results
described in this press release will not be achieved. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other
factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, that could
cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in
the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
fluctuations or changes in the pricing or demand for the Company’s coal
(or met coal generally) by the global steel industry; the timing and
number of longwall moves; federal and state tax legislation; changes in
interpretation or assumptions and/or updated regulatory guidance
regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; legislation and regulations
relating to the Clean Air Act and other environmental initiatives;
regulatory requirements associated with federal, state and local
regulatory agencies, and such agencies’ authority to order temporary or
permanent closure of the Company’s mines; operational, logistical,
geological, permit, license, labor and weather-related factors,
including equipment, permitting, site access, operational risks and new
technologies related to mining; the Company’s obligations surrounding
reclamation and mine closure; inaccuracies in the Company’s estimates of
its met coal reserves; the Company’s expectations regarding its future
tax rate as well as its ability to effectively utilize its NOLs; the
Company’s ability to develop or acquire met coal reserves in an
economically feasible manner; significant cost increases and
fluctuations, and delay in the delivery of raw materials, mining
equipment and purchased components; competition and foreign currency
fluctuations; fluctuations in the amount of cash the Company generates
from operations, including cash necessary to pay any special or
quarterly dividend; the timing and amount of any stock repurchases the
Company makes under its stock repurchase program; the Company’s ability
to comply with covenants in its credit facility or indenture relating to
its 8.00% Senior Notes due 2024; integration of businesses that the
Company may acquire in the future; adequate liquidity and the cost,
availability and access to capital and financial markets; failure to
obtain or renew surety bonds on acceptable terms, which could affect the
Company’s ability to secure reclamation and coal lease obligations;
costs associated with litigation, including claims not yet asserted; and
other factors described in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2017, Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30,
2018 and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which could cause the Company’s actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statement. The Company’s filings with the SEC are available on its
website at www.warriormetcoal.com
and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it
is made, and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake
any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New
factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company
to predict all such factors.
WARRIOR MET COAL, INC.
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
($ in thousands, except per share)
UNAUDITED
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
WARRIOR MET COAL, INC.
QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA AND RECONCILIATION OF
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
UNAUDITED
QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA:
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
(1) 1 short ton is equivalent to 0.907185 metric tons.
(2) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, our
gross price realization represents a volume weighted-average calculation
of our daily realized price per ton based on gross sales, which excludes
demurrage and other charges, as a percentage of the Platts Index. For
the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, gross price realization
represents gross sales, excluding demurrage and other charges, divided
by tons sold as a percentage of the Australian LV Index.
RECONCILIATION OF CASH COST OF SALES (FREE-ON-BOARD PORT) TO
COST OF SALES REPORTED UNDER U.S. GAAP:
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
(3) Cash cost of sales (free on board port) is based on
reported cost of sales and includes items such as freight, royalties,
labor, fuel and other similar production and sales cost items, and may
be adjusted for other items that, pursuant to GAAP, are classified in
the Condensed Statements of Operations as costs other than cost of
sales, but relate directly to the costs incurred to produce met coal.
Our cash cost of sales per short ton is calculated as cash cost of sales
divided by the short tons sold. Cash cost of sales per short ton is a
non-GAAP financial measure which is not calculated in conformity with
U.S. GAAP and should be considered supplemental to, and not as a
substitute or superior to financial measures calculated in conformity
with GAAP. We believe cash cost of sales per ton is a useful measure of
performance and we believe it aids some investors and analysts in
comparing us against other companies to help analyze our current and
future potential performance. Cash cost of sales per ton may not be
comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
WARRIOR MET COAL, INC.
QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA AND RECONCILIATION OF
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (CONTINUED)
UNAUDITED
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA TO AMOUNTS REPORTED UNDER
U.S. GAAP:
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
(4) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before net
interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and depletion,
non-cash asset retirement obligation accretion, non-cash stock
compensation expense and transaction and other expenses. Adjusted EBITDA
is not a measure of financial performance in accordance with GAAP, and
we believe items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant to a
reader in understanding and assessing our financial condition.
Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor as
an alternative to net income, income from operations, cash flows from
operations or as a measure of our profitability, liquidity or
performance under GAAP. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA presents a
useful measure of our ability to incur and service debt based on ongoing
operations. Furthermore, analogous measures are used by industry
analysts to evaluate our operating performance. Investors should be
aware that our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to
similarly titled measures used by other companies.
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED NET INCOME TO AMOUNTS REPORTED UNDER
U.S. GAAP:
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
(5) Adjusted net income is defined as net income net of
incremental non-cash stock compensation expense, transaction and other
expenses, net of tax (based on each respective period’s effective tax
rate). Adjusted net income is not a measure of financial performance in
accordance with GAAP, and we believe items excluded from adjusted net
income are significant to the reader in understanding and assessing our
results of operations. Therefore, adjusted net income should not be
considered in isolation, nor as an alternative to net income under GAAP.
We believe adjusted net income is a useful measure of performance and we
believe it aids some investors and analysts in comparing us against
other companies to help analyze our current and future potential
performance. Adjusted net income may not be comparable to similarly
titled measures used by other companies.
WARRIOR MET COAL, INC.
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
($ in thousands)
UNAUDITED
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
RECONCILIATION OF FREE CASH FLOW TO AMOUNTS REPORTED UNDER U.S.
GAAP:
For the three months endedJune 30,
For the six months endedJune 30,
(6) Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by
operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment.
Free cash flow is not a measure of financial performance in accordance
with GAAP, and we believe items excluded from net cash provided by
operating activities are significant to the reader in understanding and
assessing our results of operations. Therefore, free cash flow should
not be considered in isolation, nor as an alternative to net cash
provided by operating activities under GAAP. We believe free cash flow
is a useful measure of performance and we believe it aids some investors
and analysts in comparing us against other companies to help analyze our
current and future potential performance. Free cash flow may not be
comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
WARRIOR MET COAL, INC.
CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
($ in thousands)
UNAUDITED
June 30,2018
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