Narrowing annual Adj. EBITDA guidance to $150-170 million from $130-170 million previously Posted solid adjusted EBITDA of $58 million for the second quarter of 2024 Net cash positive of $64 million and adjusted gross debt of $81 million U.S. Department of Commerce announced preliminary duties on Russian FeSi imports Coreshell advanced EV battery testing yields promising results French operations restarted in Q2, driving silicon metal volume growth Paid quarterly cash dividend of $0.013 per share in June; next dividend on September 27 Shareholders approved the share buyback program at the June annual general meeting LONDON, Aug. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) ("Ferroglobe", the "Company", or the "Parent"), a leading producer globally of silicon metal, silicon-based and manganese-based specialty alloys, today announces financial results for the second quarter of 2024. Financial Highlights ($ in millions, except EPS)   Q2 2024   Q1 2024   %Q/Q   Q2 2023   %Y/Y   YTD 2024   YTD 2023   %Y/Y                                             Sales   $ 451.0     $ 391.9     15%   $ 456.4   (1%)   $ 842.9   $ 857.3   (2%) Net income (loss)   $ 34.9     $ (2.0 )   (1.844%)   $ 31.9   9%   $ 32.9   $ 52.9   (38%) Adjusted diluted EPS   $ 0.13     $ (0.00 )   (4.000%)   $ 0.30   (58%)   $ 0.13   $ 0.34   (61%) Adj. EBITDA   $ 57.7     $ 25.8     124%   $ 105.7   (45%)   $ 83.5   $ 150.4   (44%) Operating cash flow   $ 2.0     $ 198.0     (99%)   $ 23.6   (91%)   $ 200.1   $ 158.4   26% Capital expenditures1   $ 21.9     $ 18.2     20%   $ 23.6   (7%)   $ 40.1   $ 41.6   (4%) Free cash flow2   $ (19.9 )   $ 179.8     (111%)   $ 0.9   (2.215%)   $ 160.0   $ 118.4   35% (1)  Cash outflows for capital expenditures (2)  Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow less capital expenditures   Dr. Marco Levi, Ferroglobe's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continued to execute well on multiple fronts during the second quarter. We posted strong quarterly results with a 15% increase in sales and more than doubled our adjusted EBITDA from the prior quarter. We successfully restarted our French operations in April, helping drive silicon metal and manganese-based specialty alloy volumes. "We were also successful in our ferrosilicon trade case in the U.S. as our actions impacted the U.S. Department of Commerce's decision to impose preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 283% and 748%, respectively, on all Russian ferrosilicon imports, which were announced in June. This is a very positive development that we expect to benefit our ferrosilicon business in the US, beginning in early 2025. Finally, the EV battery testing using Coreshell nanocoating technology with silicon-rich anode is yielding excellent results. We are excited about these results as it confirms our belief that high-grade silicon metal will play a critical role in the future of batteries used in EVs. "We are narrowing the adjusted EBITDA guidance range from $130-$170 million to $150-$170 million. The strong second quarter combined with higher index prices should positively impact the third quarter, giving us more confidence for the second half of the year," concluded Dr. Levi. Consolidated Sales In the second quarter of 2024, Ferroglobe reported net sales of $451 million, an increase of 15% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 1% over the year-ago period. This increase over the prior quarter is primarily attributable to higher sales volumes in silicon metal and manganese-based specialty alloys and also higher pricing in our portfolio products. Silicon metal and manganese-based alloys contributed $36 million and $32 million of the increase, respectively, partially offset by a $7 million decrease in silicon-based alloy sales. Product Category Highlights Silicon Metal                                 ($,000)   Q2 2024   Q1 2024   % Q/Q   Q2 2023   % Y/Y   YTD 2024   YTD 2023   % Y/Y Shipments in metric tons:     62,872       53,183     18.2 %     50,651     24.1 %     116,055       87,593     32.5 % Average selling price ($/MT):     3,244       3,155     2.8 %     3,855     (15.8 )%     3,203       4,064     (21.2 )%                                             Silicon Metal Revenue     203,957       167,792     21.6 %     195,260     4.5 %     371,724       355,995     4.4 % Silicon Metal Adj.EBITDA     34,584       16,071     115.2 %     82,403     (58.0 )%     50,655       113,523     (55.4 )% Silicon Metal Adj.EBITDA Margin     17.0 %     9.6 %         42.2 %         13.6 %     31.9 %                                                           Silicon metal revenue in the second quarter was $204.0 million, an increase of 21.6% over the prior quarter and an increase of 4.5% over the year-ago period. Average realized selling price increased by 2.8%, primarily due to increased prices in the U.S. Total shipments increased due to higher volumes in EMEA. The adjusted EBITDA for silicon metal increased to $34.6 million during the second quarter, an increase of 115.2% compared with $16.1 million for the prior quarter. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was mainly driven by price and volume increases. Silicon-Based Alloys                                 ($,000)   Q2 2024   Q1 2024   % Q/Q   Q2 2023   % Y/Y   YTD 2024   YTD 2023   % Y/Y Shipments in metric tons:     46,953       51,171     (8.2 )%     49,457     (5.1 )%     98,124       98,557     (0.4 )% Average selling price ($/MT):     2,241       2,188     2.4 %     2,697     (16.9 )%     2,213       2,726     (18.8 )%                                             Silicon-based Alloys Revenue     105,222       111,962     (6.0 )%     133,386     (21.1 )%     217,148       268,706     (19.2 )% Silicon-based Alloys Adj.EBITDA     10,199       14,412     (29.2 )%     31,812     (67.9 )%     24,611       53,736     (54.2 )% Silicon-based Alloys Adj.EBITDA Margin     9.7 %     12.9 %         23.8 %         11.3 %     20.0 %                                                           Silicon-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $105.2 million, a decrease of 6.0% over the prior quarter and a decrease of 21.1% in the year-ago period. Shipments decreased by 8.2%, which was attributable to demand weakness in the U.S. The adjusted EBITDA for the silicon-based alloys decreased to $10.2 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of 29.2% compared with $14.4 million for the prior quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased mainly due to the decrease in shipments during the second quarter of 2024. Manganese-Based Alloys                                 ($,000)   Q2 2024   Q1 2024   % Q/Q   Q2 2023   % Y/Y   YTD 2024   YTD 2023   % Y/Y Shipments in metric tons:     81,464       62,320     30.7 %     62,573     30.2 %     143,784       109,440     31.4 % Average selling price ($/MT):     1,204       1,066     12.9 %     1,248     (3.5 )%     1,144       1,277     (10.4 )%                                             Manganese-based Alloys Revenue     98,083       66,433     47.6 %     78,091     25.6 %     164,489       139,768     17.7 % Manganese-based Alloys Adj.EBITDA     13,832       5,520     150.6 %     1,065     1198.8 %     19,352       3,108     522.7 % Manganese-based Alloys Adj.EBITDA Margin     14.1 %     8.3 %         1.4 %         11.8 %     2.2 %                                                           Manganese-based alloy revenue in the second quarter was $98.1 million, an increase of 47.6% over the prior quarter and an increase of 25.6% over the year-ago period. Average realized selling price increased by 12.9% and total shipments increased by 30.7%. Adjusted EBITDA for the manganese-based alloys portfolio increased to $13.8 million in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 150.6% compared with $5.5 million for the prior quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin increase was mainly driven by price and volume increases. Raw materials and energy consumption for production Raw materials and energy consumption for production was $264.3 million in the second quarter of 2024 versus $257.4 million in the prior quarter, an increase of 2.7%. As a percentage of sales, raw materials and energy consumption for production was 59% in the second quarter of 2024, an improvement versus 66% in the prior quarter. This variance was mainly due to lower production costs in Europe related to the restart of operations in France during the second quarter of 2024. Net Income (Loss) Attributable to the Parent In the second quarter of 2024, net income attributable to the parent was $34.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to a net loss attributable to the parent of $2.0 million, or ($0.01) per diluted share in the first quarter. The company reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.13 for the second quarter, compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.00 per share in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA In the second quarter of 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $57.7 million, or 12.8% of sales, an increase of 123.8% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $25.8 million, or 6.6% of sales, from the first quarter of 2024. The increase in adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales in the second quarter of 2024 is primarily attributable to higher realized prices and volumes. Total Cash, Adjusted Gross Debt and Working Capital                                           ($ in millions)   Q2 2024   Q1 2024   $   %   Q2 2023   $   % Y/Y                                           Total Cash1   $ 144.5     $ 159.8       (15.3 )     (10 %)   $ 363.2     (218.7 )   (60 %) Adjusted Gross Debt2   $ 80.7     $ 80.8       (0.1 )     (0 %)   $ 400.1     (319.4 )   (80 %) Net (Cash)/Debt   $ (63.7 )   $ (79.0 )     15.3       19 %   $ 36.8     (100.5 )   (273 %) Total Working Capital   $ 499.1     $ 487.5       11.6       2 %