AdvanSix Announces Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

AdvanSix (NYSE: ASIX) today announced its financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2020. Overall, the Company generated higher cash flow in the third quarter while mitigating the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and executing its planned plant turnaround.

Third Quarter 2020 Results

• Sales down approximately 9% versus prior year, as 5% higher volume was more than offset by 13% lower raw material pass-through pricing and 1% unfavorable impact of market-based pricing
• Net Loss of ($0.7) million, a decrease of $8.6 million versus the prior year
• EBITDA of $15.8 million, a decrease of $9.1 million versus the prior year
• 3Q20 planned plant turnaround successfully completed - approximately $20 million unfavorable pre-tax income impact (compared to approximately $5 million unfavorable impact in 3Q19)
• Cash Flow from Operations of $35.5 million, an increase of $2.4 million versus the prior year
• Capital Expenditures of $16.0 million, $19.2 million favorable versus the prior year
• Free Cash Flow of $19.6 million, an increase of $21.6 million versus the prior year
• As of 3Q20, approximately $17 million of cash on hand with approximately $111 million of additional capacity available under the revolving credit facility

“Our diverse product portfolio and global low-cost position continue to serve us well as we navigate through the current environment," said Erin Kane, president and CEO of AdvanSix. "We have seen nylon volume returning to pre-COVID levels and we continue to optimize our mix across end uses, applications and geographies through the recovery. The performance of the remainder of our portfolio, including ammonium sulfate, acetone and other high-value intermediates, remains resilient complementing ongoing benefits from our focused cost management and high-return capital investments. We generated higher cash flow in the quarter, as anticipated, supported by efficient working capital performance and reduced capital expenditures."

Summary third quarter 2020 financial results for the Company are included below:

Sales of $281.9 million decreased approximately 9% versus the prior year. Raw material pass-through pricing was unfavorable by 13% following a net cost decrease in benzene and propylene (inputs to cumene which is a key feedstock to our products). Market-based pricing was unfavorable by 1% compared to the prior year reflecting challenging end market conditions in our nylon and caprolactam product lines and lower sales prices in ammonium sulfate, partially offset by improved industry dynamics in chemical intermediates, particularly acetone. Sales volume in the quarter increased 5% driven by increases in nylon and higher domestic granular ammonium sulfate sales.

Sales by product line represented the following approximate percentage of our total sales:

EBITDA of $15.8 million in the quarter decreased $9.1 million versus the prior year primarily due to the unfavorable impact of planned plant turnarounds, unfavorable sales mix and lower market-based pricing, partially offset by productivity and disciplined cost management, and the favorable impact of lower raw material costs including natural gas and sulfur.

Earnings per share decreased $0.30 versus the prior year to a loss of ($0.02) in the quarter driven by the factors discussed above.

Cash flow from operations of $35.5 million in the quarter increased $2.4 million versus the prior year primarily due to the favorable impact of changes in working capital, partially offset by lower net income. Capital expenditures of $16.0 million in the quarter decreased $19.2 million versus the prior year following the completion of several high-return growth and cost savings investments.

COVID-19 Response Summary

As previously discussed, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated our industry as "essential critical infrastructure" during the response to COVID-19 for both public health and safety as well as community well-being. During the third quarter, we continued to execute our business continuity and mitigation plans with a focus on health and safety including, among other actions, on-site medical personnel to actively monitor employees and contractors, thermal screening, social distancing measures, telecommuting, upgraded personal protective equipment, face coverings at all facilities, and exposure management protocols.

Outlook

• Targeting strong caprolactam plant utilization and optimizing nylon mix across end uses, applications and geographies
• Expect stable ammonium sulfate fertilizer environment to continue through 2020/2021 planting season
• Expect favorable acetone industry supply and demand balance to continue
• Continued disciplined cost management - expect $20 to $25 million full year 2020 cost reduction
• Capital Expenditures expected to be approximately $85 million in 2020 (down approximately $65 million versus 2019); Expect Capital Expenditures to be $80 to $90 million in 2021
• Expect a reduction in net debt and leverage levels in 4Q20 with robust cash generation supported by working capital improvements and cash tax benefits associated with the CARES Act
• Expect pre-tax income impact of planned plant turnarounds to be $25 to $30 million in 2021 (versus approximately $32 million in 2020)

"During this dynamic time, we continue to strengthen our ability to deliver long-term shareholder return. We are focused on executing for the remainder of 2020 and driving best possible outcomes for the business. Looking ahead to 2021, our priorities are focused on continued operational excellence and improving through-cycle profitability, enhancing our portfolio resiliency through differentiated product growth and mix optimization, and being strong and disciplined stewards of capital,” added Kane.

Conference Call Information

AdvanSix will discuss its results during its investor conference call today starting at 9:00 a.m. ET. To participate on the conference call, dial (844) 855-9494 (domestic) or (412) 858-4602 (international) approximately 10 minutes before the 9:00 a.m. ET start, and tell the operator that you are dialing in for AdvanSix’s third quarter 2020 earnings call. The live webcast of the investor call as well as related presentation materials can be accessed at http://investors.advansix.com. Investors can hear a replay of the conference call from 12 noon ET on October 30 until 12 noon ET on November 6 by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international). The access code is 10148290.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix is a leading manufacturer of Nylon 6, a polymer resin which is a synthetic material used by our customers to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics and films that, in turn, are used in such end-products as carpets, automotive and electronic components, sports apparel, food packaging and other industrial applications. As a result of our backward integration and the configuration of our manufacturing facilities, we also sell caprolactam, ammonium sulfate fertilizer, acetone and other intermediate chemicals, all of which are produced within unit operations across our integrated manufacturing value chain. More information on AdvanSix can be found at http://www.advansix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," “outlook,” "project," "strategy," "intend," "plan," "target," "goal," "may," "will," "should" and "believe" and other variations or similar terminology and expressions. Although we believe forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict, which may cause the actual results or performance of the Company to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic and financial conditions in the U.S. and globally, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and any resurgences; the scope and duration of the pandemic and pace of recovery; the timing of the development and distribution of an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19; governmental, business and individuals’ actions in response to the pandemic, including our business continuity and cash optimization plans that have been, and may in the future be, implemented; the impact of social and economic restrictions and other containment measures taken to combat virus transmission; the effect on our customers’ demand for our products and our suppliers’ ability to manufacture and deliver our raw materials, including implications of reduced refinery utilization in the U.S.; our ability to sell and provide our goods and services, including as a result of travel and other COVID-19-related restrictions; the ability of our customers to pay for our products; and any closures of our and our customers’ offices and facilities; risks associated with increased phishing, compromised business emails and other cybersecurity attacks and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; risks associated with employees working remotely or operating with a reduced workforce; risks associated with our indebtedness including compliance with financial and restrictive covenants, and our ability to access capital on reasonable terms, at a reasonable cost or at all due to economic conditions resulting from COVID-19 or otherwise; the impact of scheduled turnarounds and significant unplanned downtime and interruptions of production or logistics operations as a result of mechanical issues or other unanticipated events such as fires, severe weather conditions, natural disasters and pandemics including the COVID-19 pandemic; price fluctuations, cost increases and supply of raw materials; our operations and growth projects requiring substantial capital; growth rates and cyclicality of the industries we serve including global changes in supply and demand; failure to develop and commercialize new products or technologies; loss of significant customer relationships; adverse trade and tax policies; extensive environmental, health and safety laws that apply to our operations; hazards associated with chemical manufacturing, storage and transportation; litigation associated with chemical manufacturing and our business operations generally; inability to acquire and integrate businesses, assets, products or technologies; protection of our intellectual property and proprietary information; prolonged work stoppages as a result of labor difficulties or otherwise; cybersecurity, data privacy incidents and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; failure to maintain effective internal controls; disruptions in transportation and logistics; our inability to achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of our spin-off including uncertainty regarding qualification for expected tax treatment; fluctuations in our stock price; and changes in laws or regulations applicable to our business. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors in Part 1, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures intended to supplement, not to act as substitutes for, comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are provided in this press release. Investors are urged to consider carefully the comparable GAAP measures and the reconciliations to those measures provided. Non-GAAP measures in this press release may be calculated in a way that is not comparable to similarly-titled measures reported by other companies.

The Company believes that this metric is useful to investors and management as a measure to evaluate our ability to generate cash flow from business operations and the impact that this cash flow has on our liquidity.

The Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release provide meaningful supplemental information as they are used by the Company’s management to evaluate the Company’s operating performance, enhance a reader’s understanding of the financial performance of the Company, and facilitate a better comparison among fiscal periods and performance relative to its competitors, as these non-GAAP measures exclude items that are not considered core to the Company’s operations.

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