For first-quarter 2013, 5N Plus Inc of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a producer of specialty metal and chemical products, has reported revenue of $118.4m, down 8% on $128.6m last quarter and 27% on $162.2m a year ago following a trend of decreasing underlying commodity pricing.
5N Plus provides specialty purified metals such as bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, cadmium, selenium and tellurium, and also produces related II-VI semiconducting compounds such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), cadmium sulphide (CdS) and indium antimonide (InSb) as precursors for the growth of crystals for solar, light-emitting diode (LED) and eco-friendly materials applications.
“Backlog and revenues were negatively impacted in the quarter by the decrease in the underlying commodity pricing, but were otherwise very much in line with sales volumes for the previous fiscal year,” says president & CEO Jacques L’Ecuyer. The backlog of orders (expected to translate into sales over the following 12 months) was $166.3m at the end of March, down on $215.6m a year ago but up slightly on $165.8m last quarter. The quarter was generally characterized by healthy demand for most products, which is expected in the first quarter of the year as customers replenish stock levels following year-end,” he adds.
Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rose from $6.4m last quarter to $10.1m, the highest since $16.9m a year ago. Adjusted net earnings were $6.3m, up on $5.3m a year ago and an improvement on a loss of $6.9m last quarter.
“Earnings and EBITDA recovered during the quarter, despite the fact that the company still holds a significant proportion of inventories which are fully valued and the costs incurred in the restructuring of a portion of the business which is the subject of the dispute with former shareholders and directors of MCP Group,” says L’Ecuyer. Net debt has been reduced from $232.1m a year ago and $136.5m last quarter to $125.8m.
“We continue to focus on improving efficiency throughout the group and at reducing costs, as previously announced [selling, general & administrative expenses have fallen from $12m a year ago to $9.6m in Q1], and we remain cautiously optimistic about future prospects,” L’Ecuyer concludes.
