For second-quarter 2014, specialty metal and chemical products firm 5N Plus Inc of Montreal, Québec, Canada has reported revenue of $136.6m, down 4% on $142.4m last quarter but up 21% on $112.6m a year ago.
5N Plus provides specialty purified metals such as bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, cadmium, selenium and tellurium, and also produces related semiconducting compounds such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), cadmium sulphide (CdS) and indium antimonide (InSb) as precursors for the growth of crystals for solar, LED and eco-friendly materials applications. The firm also has fully integrated closed-loop recycling facilities.
Net earnings were $4.4m ($0.05 per share), roughly level with $4.5m ($0.05 per share) last quarter. Net earnings a year ago were $34.3m ($0.41 per share), but that was only after the positively impact of the MCP litigation settlement of $45.2m ($0.54 per share). Adjusted EBITDA has risen from $6.5m a year ago and $10.5m last quarter to $10.8m (its highest in the last eight quarters). During the quarter, net debt rose from $60.6m to $70.4m, but this is still down on $84.7m a year ago.
"We continued to improve profitability, reporting another strong quarter in terms of EBITDA supported by increasing demand, especially for our bismuth-based products, and a more favorable sales mix and underlying commodity pricing trend," says president & CEO Jacques L'Ecuyer. "We continue our efforts aimed at improving efficiency, reducing costs and working capital throughout the group," he adds.
"We made progress in the quarter towards executing on our growth plan by completing the acquisition [in early April] of the remaining 33.33% ownership interest in our subsidiary Sylarus Technologies LLC [of St. George, UT], a germanium substrate supplier, changing its name to 5N Plus Semiconductors LLC, and [in early May] we acquired all the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of AM&M Advanced Machine and Materials Inc and its metal powder atomization technology for electronic packaging, solar modules and additive manufacturing applications," L'Ecuyer continues.
Also, on 27 May, 5N Plus entered into new supply agreements with cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) module maker First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, the world's leading thin-film solar module manufacturer, covering its compound semiconductor needs until end-March 2019.
After a spike to $159.6m in Q1/2014, order bookings in Q2/2014 were $99.6m, level with a year ago. Likewise, after rising to $187.3m last quarter, order backlog was $150,4m, down only slightly on $153.3m a year ago.
"In order to support our operations and growth plan, we successfully completed the issuance [in late June] of a convertible subordinated debenture for a total amount of CA$66m ($60.8m) before fees," L'Ecuyer concludes. "Combined with the new credit facility [of US$125m, announced on 7 August], this will further improve our financial flexibility and enable us to execute on several growth initiatives which we are currently working on."
