Ferroglobe Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 15, 2023

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Ferroglobe's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will be given at that time. As a reminder, this conference Call may be recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Alex Rotonen, Ferroglobe's Vice President of Investor Relations.

Operator

You may begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Nadia. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Ferroglobe's Q2 2023 conference call. Joining me today are Marco Levy, our Chief Executive Officer and Beatriz Garcia Kos, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we get started with prepared remarks, I'm going to read a brief statement. Please turn to Slide number 2.

Speaker 1

Statements made by management during this conference call that are forward looking are based on current expectations. Factors That could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward looking statements can be found in Ferroglobe's most recent SEC filings And the exhibits to those filings, which are available on our webpage at ferroglobe.com. In addition, this discussion includes references to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted gross debt, Net debt and adjusted diluted earnings per share among other non IFRS measures. Reconciliation of non IFRS measures may be found in our most recent SEC filings. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Marco Levy, Our Chief Executive Officer.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Alex, and good day to everybody. Thanks for joining us On the call today, we appreciate your interest in Ferroglobe. I would like to briefly comment on our safety record improvement As our employees are our most valuable asset. Over the past 18 months, the rate of lost time injuries declined by 66% based on our rolling 3 month data, Approaching best in class industry standards. One of our top priorities is providing a safe work environment for our employees, And we will continue to focus on providing the safest possible workplace.

Speaker 2

Our solid results in the second quarter Reinforce our strong execution and ability to successfully navigate a challenging market. Sales increased 14% and adjusted EBITDA increased 136% To $106,000,000 over the prior year quarter. Our cash balance reached $363,000,000 The highest level in Ferroglobe's history. In addition, our net debt further declined to $37,000,000 Also a record level for the company. Last month, we took a significant step in our deleveraging efforts By redeeming $150,000,000 of our senior secured notes, reducing our note balance to less than $150,000,000 highlighting our strong cash position and reinforcing our confidence in our long term cash generation potential.

Speaker 2

To put our overall debt reduction accomplishments in perspective, since the Q1 of 2022, We reduced our gross debt from $520,000,000 to $250,000,000 In addition to reducing our interest expense, this transaction enhances our flexibility As we continue to evaluate capital allocation priorities. As discussed before, our goal is to prudently Deploy cash to enhance long term shareholder value. Beatrice will provide more color on this in her remarks. Recently, the U. S.

Speaker 2

Department of Energy added silicon metal to its critical materials list. As the leading U. S. Silicon metal producer, Ferroglobe is a significant beneficiary of this development. The Solar Energy Industry Association estimates that the U.

Speaker 2

S. Solar manufacturing capacity We'll increase from 7 gigawatt in 2021 to more than 42 gigawatts over the next 3, 4 years. As onshoring efforts among all Western regions continue to build momentum, we expect to be a significant beneficiary As a critical part of the solar supply chain due to our global footprint and ability to produce high purity silicon metal. The Inflation Reduction Act and other legislative and financial initiatives throughout the supply chain are expected to benefit Ferroglobe for years to come. The electric vehicle market continues to represent a significant growth opportunity for Ferroglok.

Speaker 2

We recently signed an agreement to license patents to strengthen our position in the EV battery market, Reinforcing the company's position as an emerging leader in high quality solutions for this market. This agreement Allows us to advance Ferroglox proprietary technology and develop silicon products for the next generation of lithium ion cells. As the silicon content in anodes increases, battery performance, charging time And storage capacity will substantially improve our current technology. This will add Ferroglobe to produce low carbon solutions And also accelerate the energy transition. We are very excited about these developments as they reinforce the long term growth opportunity for the company.

Speaker 2

In April, we restarted operations in France, Which helped our volume and cost performance during the quarter. Operations in Spain remain limited Due to less competitive energy prices, our flexible global footprint enables us to move production During volatile energy periods to lower cost plans in other regions and still provide quality products to our European Overall, our operation continued to perform well. We recently signed a competitive long term power purchase agreement with a Spanish energy provider starting in January 2024, covering a portion of our required energy needs and utilizing 100% green energy. Importantly, this is our first power purchase agreement in Spain, and we expect to sign additional agreements In the coming months, this will help us reduce our exposure to energy price volatility in Spain. The global economy remains soft, impacting the end markets that we serve.

Speaker 2

Overall, prices continued to decline In the Q2 due to weak demand impacting silicon metal, silicon alloys and manganese alloys. We expect the market to remain challenging in the Q3 as higher inflation and interest rates I expect it to continue impeding economic activity. Interestingly, in late July, the IMF RISE its global growth forecast for 20 23 slightly to 3% despite a shallower than expected recovery China, the IMF maintained its 3% global growth estimate for 2024. This combined with our internal views provides optimism for 2024 as excess inventories should be depleted And the supply demand balance for our products should improve. Despite these challenging market conditions, We are reiterating our 2023 EBITDA guidance of $270,000,000 to $300,000,000 Due to Ferroglobe's disciplined cost control and proactive energy agreements in 2023.

Speaker 2

Next slide, please. Let's start with silicon metal. Revenue was $195,000,000 in Q2, up from $161,000,000 in Q1, an increase of 22%. Adjusted EBITDA for this segment increased $31,000,000 in Q1 to $82,000,000 in Q2, up 100 5%. Our silicon metal business was up, primarily driven by restart in France, Partially offset by lower prices due to a challenging market environment.

Speaker 2

Volume increased 37% Quarter over quarter to approximately 50,000 metric tons. Our average realized price for silicon metal sales Decreased by 11% compared to the previous quarter, driven by lower index pricing in the U. S. And Europe. This price decline negatively impacted adjusted EBITDA by $17,000,000 We continue to benefit from our energy agreement In France, indirect CO2, which together contributed roughly half of the cost benefit with lower raw material costs Being the next larger contributor factor.

Speaker 2

As for the silicon metal outlook, we are starting to see initial signs of increased As the recent inventory of Rang is almost fully corrected. At the same time, The price environment appears to have stabilized. Another positive sign for the silicon metal market is the reduced exports from China, We should bode well for the future prices. Next slide, please. Moving to silicon based alloys.

Speaker 2

Revenue was $133,000,000 in Q2, essentially flat with the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 was $32,000,000 up 45% from the prior quarter. Sales volumes remained flat over the prior quarter. Average realized pricing was down 2% over the same period, Negatively impacting EBITDA by $3,000,000 Relative to the prior quarter, silicon alloys benefited From lower raw material cost, which was the largest contributor to cost improvement. This combined with higher CO2 compensations We are the primary drivers of the cost impact.

Speaker 2

Demand outlook for silicon based alloys Remains soft due to the weakness of the European steel markets with specialty ferrosilicon performing relatively better than standard. Our strategy to prioritize higher margin specialty and foundry products over commodity grades Silicon Alloys enabled us to achieve better pricing and margins, demonstrating the effectiveness of our execution. Moving to Slide 7, we move to Manganese based alloys. Manganese based alloys revenue was $78,000,000 in Q2, up 27% over the Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 was $1,000,000 down $2,000,000 in the prior quarter. Sales volumes were up 34% over the prior quarter, positively impacting adjusted EBITDA by $1,000,000 While average realized pricing was down 5% over the same period, which negatively impacted EBITDA by $20,000,000 The weakness in the European steel market continues to put pressure on the spread between the alloy and ore, which are currently at historical lows.

Speaker 2

However, we do not believe that the current spreads are sustainable. Should this continue, We would expect a supplier response. In Q2 2023, our costs in the Manganese based on Loy segment We are relatively flat compared to the prior quarter. Before turning the call over to Beatrice, I want to emphasize that we are steadfast in our focus on driving future growth and enhancing shareholder value. Despite the current market softness, we are very well positioned to take advantage of the market upturn, which we believe will begin in the coming quarters.

Speaker 2

We are very bullish on Ferroglobe's role in the transition to green energy Through solar and battery market, which we believe provides a significant long term growth opportunity for the company. Beatrice, please.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Marco. Please turn to Slide 9 for a review of the income statement. Our Q2 results improved over the Q1 due to an overall increase in volume and cost efficiencies, partially offset by weaker pricing. Revenue for the 2nd quarter was $456,000,000 Up from $401,000,000 in the prior quarter. The 14% increase from the prior quarter Was due to stronger volumes, driven by the resumption of operations in France after idling in the first quarter As a result of our energy agreement, the volume increase related to our French operations was primarily in silicon metal and manganese alloys, which increased 37% and 34%, respectively.

Speaker 3

Our volume gains were partially offset by lower prices. During the 2nd quarter, Raw material and energy consumption costs improved to $229,000,000 versus $255,000,000 in the prior quarter. The lower raw material and energy consumption for production costs were driven by cost benefits From our energy agreement, cost of sales as a percentage of revenue improved to 55%, down from 58% in the prior quarter. Excluding the accounting impact from the short term PP and A in Spain, Cost of sales declined to 50%, down from 64% in the first quarter. Operating profit in the 2nd quarter was $63,000,000 versus $44,000,000 in the prior quarter.

Speaker 3

As a percentage of sales, operating profit was 14% in Q2, Up from 11% in Q1, the $19,000,000 increase in operating profits at the 2nd quarter Was driven primarily by higher volumes and cost efficiencies. Net financial expenses in the 2nd quarter Declined to $1,000,000 down from $11,000,000 in the prior quarter. The decline was attributable to lower debt outstanding As we continue to execute our deleveraging strategy, in addition, we extended maturity of 1 of our government loans, resulting in a one time true up of accrued interest during the quarter. Next slide, please. Our adjusted EBITDA in the 2nd quarter was $106,000,000 versus $45,000,000 in the previous quarter.

Speaker 3

Adjusted EBITDA margins increased to 23% in the 2nd quarter, up from 11% in the 1st quarter. Silicometans and manganese volumes increased in the 2nd quarter as we resumed production in France. The volume increase positively impacted adjusted EBITDA by $34,000,000 The average selling price across our portfolio declined by 6.7%, resulting in a negative price impact to adjusted EBITDA Of $23,000,000 Declining prices in the 2nd quarter were impacted by soft demand. Improved costs positively impacted adjusted EBITDA by $50,000,000 mainly due to our energy agreement, CO2 compensation and declining raw material prices. Slide 11, please.

Speaker 3

We end the 2nd quarter with a record Cash balance of $363,000,000 up from $344,000,000 in the prior quarter, An increase of $19,000,000 Total adjusted gross debt was $400,000,000 Flat from the prior quarter. During Q2, we repurchased $2,000,000 of our senior secured notes In the open market, which was offset by accrued interest. Net debt declined to $37,000,000 in the 2nd quarter, Another record level. As a result, the debt as a percentage of equity improved to 4% in the 2nd quarter, Down from 8% in the prior quarter and 30% in the year ago quarter. This dramatic improvement over the past year highlights our progress in reducing our leverage and strengthening our balance sheet.

Speaker 3

Furthermore, in July, we redeemed $150,000,000 of our $9,375,000 senior secured notes Due in 2025, effectively reducing the outstanding note balance by half and lowering our annual interest expenses By approximately $14,000,000 Overall, in less than 80 months, we have reduced gross debt By $270,000,000 down from roughly $520,000,000 approaching our objective of having approximately $200,000,000 of gross debt. For the next step in our capital structure, We are currently evaluating the most effective capital allocation policy to maximize shareholder value. As you are probably aware, before we can return any capital to shareholders, we must remove the covenant restriction In our senior secured note debt agreement, which presents which prevents dividends and share buybacks, Given the strength of our balance sheet and the alternatives at our disposal, we believe such restrictions Will be removed in the coming months. Next slide, please. During the Q2, we generated operating cash flow of $24,000,000 versus $135,000,000 in the prior quarter, Primarily due to a $75,000,000 tax payment made during the quarter, the high tax payment was the result Record earnings in 2022.

Speaker 3

Free cash flow in the second quarter was positive $1,000,000 Versus $117,000,000 in the prior quarter. During the quarter, we had a working capital release Of $79,000,000 we had a total $66,000,000 of non cash items Related to the accounting impact of the short term PP and A in Spain and the energy agreement, We plan to build inventory in the coming months as we prepare for the Q1 idling in France. We expect that this will increase Our overall working capital in the next quarter. CapEx outflows in the 2nd quarter were $23,000,000 versus $17,000,000 in the Q1. We continue to project our base level CapEx for 2023 to be around $75,000,000 with the potential to increase depending on additional spending for growth Lastly, cash flow from financing activities in the 2nd quarter was Sorry, dollars 19,000,000 versus negative $96,000,000 in the Q1, impacted by bond repurchases, Early repayments and bond interest payments.

Speaker 3

Next slide, please. At this time, I'll turn the call back over to Marco.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Beatrice. Moving to the corporate update on Slide 14. As we have already discussed during the call, we made a significant step in strengthening our balance sheet when we redeem half of our outstanding senior secured notes in July. This transaction is an important step that better positions us for the forthcoming capital return decisions. The U.

Speaker 2

S. Department of Energy's designation of silica metal as a critical material is a big win for Ferroglobe As the leading producer in the U. S, combined with a strong push by the U. S. Government to strengthen the domestic supply chain, It facilitates the onshoring trend, which has already seen tremendous progress.

Speaker 2

We believe the incentives Created by the Inflation Reduction and CHIPS Act put us in a strong position to take advantage of these growth trends in the coming years.

Speaker 1

Sorry, go ahead.

Operator

Thank you. And wait for your name to be announced. Now we're going to take our first question. And the question comes from the line of Lucas Pipes From B. Riley, your line is open.

Operator

Please ask your question.

Speaker 4

Thank you very much, operator. Good morning, good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking my question. Good job on the cost management during Q2. And my first question is In regards to Beatrizio, your comments in your prepared remarks regarding the restrictions on capital returns being removed in the coming months.

Speaker 4

And so my question is, what is your desire to return capital to shareholders in this Somewhat weaker macro industry environment. And then more broadly, both Beatrice and Mark, how you kind of think about Capital returns versus pursuing growth, you think you have the ability to do both? Thank you very much for your perspective.

Speaker 3

Thank you. Thank you, Lucas, for the question. Well, as you exactly point out, you know that our senior notes It does not allow us to either pay dividends or share a buyback. So now at the moment, we are about to look at the options that we have to return capital to our shareholders, Either in the form of share buybacks or in the form of dividends. Once we So the issue around the covenants on the senior notes.

Speaker 3

As we see it, We have a couple of options at the moment. In one side, we can get a consent, of course, In our senior notes, the other option is to refinance or to redeem our senior notes. We feel Quite strong about the cash generation that we have at the moment. So Those are the options that we have at the moment. Once we get to that point, that either we refinance or we redeem Our senior notes or as I explained before, we got a consent, then we will be evaluating what is the best Financial policy for the company, either in the form of share buybacks or payment of Dividends.

Speaker 3

And I think this could be something that we're going to be announcing shortly.

Speaker 4

That is very helpful. Thank you. And follow-up question. Marco, you mentioned the critical material status for silicon metal. If you could maybe comment On the implications for your business of that U.

Speaker 4

S. Designation, you also mentioned the licensing agreement in your prepared remarks. If you could maybe expand on some of the details of that agreement, what it could mean in terms of potential revenue, would appreciate a perspective on that. And then separately, kind of near term question, just how you think about the Cadence of EBITDA for the remainder of this year given you reiterated your full year guidance. Thank you very much.

Speaker 4

I know there were a few questions in there.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Thank you, Luca. Well, the news from U. S. Are particularly good because I mean, silicon metal has been already classified Critical and strategic by the European community.

Speaker 2

And now the U. S. Has confirmed the fact that silicon metal is Critical for the green transition. Now of course, Being the largest producer of silicon metal in the U. S.

Speaker 2

And in Europe, we see great opportunities To benefit out of it, not only because we know that our business is cyclical, chemicals would come back, But there is growth related to solar and batteries. And I think that Due to our global asset footprints, we are pretty well placed to compete successfully to exploit Regarding the license, Yes. We as you know, we are working on batteries on 2 fronts. One front is basically supply chemical producers to produce products that Partially refuse replaced graphite in the anode, and this is already going on. These specific licenses Support our second development, which is toward the full replacement of the graphite with silicon in the anode.

Speaker 2

So having this additional know how at our disposal It's going to speed up our development. The third question was about?

Speaker 4

The cadence of EBITDA, so I'll just take a look.

Speaker 2

The cadence of EBITDA. Yes. I mean, We do we are at 151 at the end of the first half, And we have confirmed our guidance of EUR 270,000,000 to EUR 300,000,000. The market It's extremely challenging at the moment in terms of volumes, in terms Of price trends, our expectation is To see better conditions in the New Year, but in the meantime, we expect to deliver Good results in Q3 and lower results in Q4 due to the fact that we will have to slow down our production in France Due to the energy conditions.

Speaker 4

Got it. So really like The cadence of Q3 and Q4 is really driven 1st and foremost by your volumes?

Speaker 2

Yes. Correct.

Speaker 4

Okay. That's helpful. Marco and team really appreciate your color this morning. Continued best of luck.

Speaker 2

Thank you,

Speaker 3

Anouk. Thank you.

Operator

Now we're going to take our next question. Just give us a moment. And the next question comes from the line of Martin Englert from Seaport Research Partners. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 5

Hello. Good afternoon, everyone.

Speaker 2

Hi, Martin.

Speaker 5

I wanted to touch on costs. Costs were well managed in the recent quarters, but maybe what you Are seeing incrementally there as we move into and through the back half of the year, kind of your expectations, if we'll Continue to see some deflation there that will act as some mitigating factor on the declining price environment.

Speaker 2

You want to start, Beatriz, on cost?

Speaker 3

Yes, I can start. Thank you, Marco. Hi, Martin. I think on the cost side, what we have been seeing on this quarter In general, a decrease in the raw material pricing, the only raw material with prices that are still holding This call and the blood reductants as well. I think going forward, We continue to see this trend sustain in Q3 and Q4.

Speaker 3

I think the big caveat for us is around the coal pricing. And of course, the main contributor So the cost is the energy benefits that we have to run our assets in France.

Speaker 2

Yes. Martin, we continue to benefit of our energy contracts, particularly in France In Q3 and as I mentioned during Q3, we will have to be like we have done last year, some level of inventories to support The slowdown of production was seen for the end of Q4 in France in silicon metal.

Speaker 5

Okay. And some of those items like the That were adjusted for an EBITDA and or were beneficial from a cost perspective that you called out While reviewing the size like the PPA and carbon credits, what's the expectation that That all continue at like a similar rate or are those off the table for the remaining quarters?

Speaker 3

Yes. Martin, in this quarter, we adjust to the EBITDA, the PP and A that we signed in Spain. It was A swap for 2 months. So you saw the impact and we adjusted even if it's a positive impact in the quarter. And then I think as one of the highlights in our presentation, we said that we signed We'll execute the first PP and A in Spain, and this could be the first one Because our target is to cover more or less 50% of our energy consumption with this PB and A.

Speaker 3

So you can expect

Speaker 5

Okay. Earlier in the call, you said that the news maybe I misheard it, The new Spanish PPA wasn't effective until I thought January 2024, is that right?

Speaker 2

You are right Martin.

Speaker 5

Okay. Got it. How about I guess This is along the same lines as the EBITDA cadence question, but maybe if you could touch on volumes specifically. Thinking about Q3, Q4, I think you alluded to Q4 volumes probably sequentially lower. Is that Maybe if you could review that.

Speaker 5

Well,

Speaker 2

the picture is the following for us. Silicon Metal, we see a slightly better situation than in the previous quarters. We think that the supply chain is rather empty, and we see our orders Coming now more regularly than before. This is valid for silicon metal. While for I think that to see the same situation for alloys, we have at least for commodities, We have to wait the end of the year.

Speaker 2

Of course, we have the advantage of Ferrocyclical Specialty and Foundry that have a rather stable volume trend, But definitely, the supply chain of manganese alloys and ferrosilicon standard Still suffers out of oversupply.

Speaker 5

Understood. Thank you for that. And one last one here, and you did touch on this in the prepared remarks, but I think you said working capital, did you expect Working capital relative to sales to increase quarter over quarter in 3Q and then What was the I didn't catch the reason behind that why that is expected to happen?

Speaker 2

Apologies, I was not clear. My fault, Martin. Let me try to repeat it more clearly. We expect an increase of working capital in Q3, driven by the fact that we will slow down production in France, Where we are the core of our silicon metal production in Europe at the end of Q4, so we will need To start building inventory of silicon metal, so this means Producing more finishing goods, but also by the right volumes of KIRO materials.

Speaker 5

Okay. At a group level, any goalposts on how we should think of overall working capital as a per 10 digit sales in 3Q then?

Speaker 2

Well, The silicon metal will be higher than our target 21%, 22%. We expect to run at this level ferrosilicon and manganese will continue to be North of 25%

Speaker 5

overseas. Excellent. I appreciate the time and congratulations on navigating the environment and on the cost front.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Martin.

Speaker 3

Thank

Operator

And now we're going to take our next question. And the next question comes from the line of John Rolfe from Crescent Rock Capital. Your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 6

Hi, guys. Nice quarter. Two questions for you. 1, on the cash flow statement, There was a $62,000,000 outflow related to the other line item. I was hoping you could provide a little bit of additional color around that.

Speaker 6

And then as my follow-up, Could you just maybe give a bit of additional detail in terms of what is the practical impact of having the Department of Energy add Silicone metal to its critical material list. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Hello, John. Let me ask the non cash items question. So there is mainly 2 items that you need to take into consideration. 1 is the PP and A that we have in Spain. And the second element that you need to take into consideration is our LNG's agreements in France.

Speaker 3

So those are the two items that are playing a role on these non cash items.

Speaker 6

Okay, got it. So what do you need to Post collateral for those energy and power agreements? Or is it just a payable that you have to make at some point in the future?

Speaker 3

It's a receivable. On the energy, it's a receivable. And on the PP and A is just what I explained before is the adjustment of the swap agreement that we have in Q2 2023.

Speaker 6

Okay, got it. Understood. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. On your second question, The thing is that when we think about what's happening in solar and batteries market, The idea in U. S, but also in other countries is to establish the full supply chain. And what is important is that everybody understands what are the elements of this Supply chain and the fact that silicon is recognized like a critical and strategic raw material implies that Silicon and the investments related to silicon are going to be considered by legislators, by politicians, By investors, so this is really The essence. And as these things are moving pretty fast In the Western world, where we have our main footprint in silicon metal puts us In a good position to exploit some of the coming opportunities.

Speaker 6

So just As a quick follow-up, I mean, does that designation give you increased confidence, For instance, that the government will continue to keep anti dumping tariffs on some of The countries that they currently have the tariffs on, that sort of thing?

Speaker 2

Yes. This is part I mean, this is related to onshoring and defending local productions, yes.

Speaker 6

Okay. Okay, great.

Speaker 2

Thank you. I mean, there is this is happening also in Europe. Unfortunately, my opinion, Europe is less efficient Then you asked not only in protecting from damping, but also in terms of walking the talk. So I think I'm very optimistic about the situation in U. S.

Speaker 2

At the moment.

Speaker 6

Great. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Operator

Now we're going to take our next question. Just give us a moment. And the next question comes from the line of Morten Norman From Carnegie, your line is open. Please ask your question.

Speaker 7

Yes, hi. Thank you for taking my questions. I have two questions. The one is fairly easy one. What is the sales mix between the U.

Speaker 7

S. And the Europe in silicon And the second question is regarding the CO2 compensation. How do you book that? You mentioned higher CO2 compensation in the second quarter. And what was the incremental change In the CO2 compensation between Q1 and the Q2 and is the CO2 compensation in the second quarter Also representative for what you will book in Q3 and Q4?

Speaker 7

Thank you.

Speaker 2

Okay. As far as I know, usually we don't give data about the mix By geography, but let me try to help you a little bit. In Europe, we sell the entire mix. So we sell silicon metal, silicon base alloys, foundry and manganese alloys. In the Americas, we don't sell manganese alloys, while we are present with Silicon metal, ferrosilicon and foundry and foundry products.

Speaker 2

Outside of these geographies, we have quite important footprint in South Africa that Supplies basically for ferrosilicon Europe, while for silicon metal, The asset in Polokwane, South Africa supplies a little bit everywhere in the world. We have a plant which produces electrodes in China. It's the only plant that we have that produces electrodes. And now this production basically go to the U. S.

Speaker 2

And to Europe. We have a plant in Argentina that supplies Calcium silicon and foundry products to supply Europe. This is Broadly, this is our mix.

Speaker 7

Okay.

Speaker 3

And Martin, with regarding the CO2 to your question, so two comments. Comment number 1 is that the CO2 is I'm sure that you know that, but okay, is an allowance that we receive, Right, based on the production of the previous years. And then we book it in our P and L Base for the production of the quarter. And as you remember in Q1, we didn't produce In France, right? And this quarter, we have been resuming The operations in France, so we have been producing, so the amount of CO2 that we book in our P and L It's higher than in Q1.

Speaker 3

So the way to look at CO2 is depending if our plants are operating, you will see A different amount of CO2, if this answer your question.

Speaker 7

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Thank

Operator

you. Now we're going to take our next question. And the question comes from the line of Greg Bennett from just the stockholder. Your line is open. Please ask a question.

Speaker 8

Good morning. Thank you for the great results. Silicon Metal in the United States, you say you're the largest. At what capacity are you now running? Is there excess capacity Or do you have the opportunity to expand that capacity?

Speaker 2

Yes. We have Two plants in joint venture, when you talk about North America with the Dow Chemical Company, 1 in Vancouver, Canada and 1 in Aloy, West Virginia. These plants produce Only silicon metal. We have another plant in Thelma, Alabama, Which is owned by us, which produces only silicon metal. And then we have a plant in Ohio, Beverly, Ohio, which produces ferrosilicon foundry And silicon metals, so produces all the mix to supply the United States.

Speaker 2

These plants are back integrated with mines in Canada and Alabama for quartz And we have a mine coal mine in Kentucky. So this is the footprint. Now the We believe that the when you keep your plants in a good state, In a good status with the right maintenance CapEx, you have the possibilities, 1, to improve The yield of the furnaces with different technologies, these are incremental capacity expansions. Then we have the opportunity to increase our capacity in greenfield At the most competitive plans, so their plans among the ones that I have mentioned, Well, for us, it's pretty easy and pretty fast to put a new furnace and to increase the output Of silicon metal. So the footprint and the back integration are basically Our strong points.

Speaker 8

Is your energy supply natural gas? Or is it What is the energy supply? Because you focus on energy costs quite a bit, at least in Europe.

Speaker 2

Yes, we are talking about electricity.

Speaker 8

Your cost is electricity, not natural gas. Is that Correct.

Speaker 2

We're looking at electricity, yes.

Speaker 8

Okay. And these are competitive areas like West Virginia for that?

Speaker 2

Well, you're talking about the we have different contracts for the different assets. That's true.

Speaker 8

How do you expect the U. S. Are is there going to be grants given to companies like yours or Financing, favorable financing for you to increase capacity. How do you envision that's going to What's going to happen besides tariffs?

Speaker 2

Yes. We are looking into that and We are talking to different partners. I think that The key thing is to form alliances with other companies in the supply chain To leverage at best the incentives that the government is Can potentially guarantee.

Speaker 8

In your joint ventures with Dow Chemical, If you want to expand, is that an agreement between the 2 of you or how do you see your partner Contributing in this?

Speaker 2

Well, the joint venture with Dove Chemical is related to the Two sides of Beccan Core and Alloy and the whenever We consider an expansion either in Bekancur or LOA. We need to sit down With the Dow Chemical Company that uses capacity for their own production of chemicals.

Speaker 8

Okay. For whatever it's worth, I would like you to continue to delever, Considering the uncertainty of from an economic point of view going forward for whatever that's worth. Thank you.

Speaker 2

I hear you loud. I totally agree with you. De leveraging further deleveraging And start distributing dividends to our shareholders is our priority.

Speaker 8

Let me ask you one other shareholder question. There's virtually very little ownership And or if you look at your shareholder base, you have some hedge funds, that type of thing. But as far as being part of any kind of Environmental, social, governance or solar, there's I don't think there's any coverage at all, but is and you've hired a new shareholder relations person. Do you anticipate Coming to New York or Boston or places to visit with institutional investors to try to get The Vanguard and Fidelity's of the world to look at your company? You're kind of

Speaker 5

an orphan.

Speaker 2

Let me Start answering your question. First of all, we have been doing that a lot between December, February And March this year. And we've been several times to the U. S. Meeting current and potential investors, today, we are covered By B.

Speaker 2

Riley and by Seaport, there are other parties who are showing up Interested in covering us. The you referred to the you made a reference, and I'm pleased about that to our Investor relationship, yes, we have decided to focus much more on the on our shareholders. And for this reason, we have hired somebody who has an enormous experience in IR, And we are pleased to have him around in for this exercise. So yes, Alex Rotonen is in the call at the moment.

Speaker 1

Yes. Thank you. Yes. So that is clearly one of my missions is to Do more outreach, expand coverage and I'm quite familiar with the U. S.

Speaker 1

Market since I've spent most of my life there. So I'll certainly be visiting U. S. Quite a bit with the management team. But I've been here for about 6 weeks now.

Speaker 1

So Haven't had a chance yet, but we'll be traveling.

Speaker 8

Fantastic. Thank you very much for your hard work.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes question and answer session for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker, Marco Levy, for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you. That concludes our Q2 2022 earnings calls. Thank you again for your participation. We look forward to hearing from you on the next call. Have a great day.

Operator

That does conclude our conference for today. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day.

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Earnings Conference Call
Ferroglobe Q2 2023
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