Revises Product Sales Volume Outlook for 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2016--
LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE:LXU) (“LSB” or the “Company”) today announced
that Turnaround activities and various operational issues resulted in
unplanned downtime at its three primary chemical facilities during the
third quarter of 2016. The Company expects the combined impact to third
quarter EBITDA as a result of reduced production, lost fixed cost
absorption and repair expenses related to unplanned maintenance to be in
the range of $25.0 million - $26.5 million.
“Our third quarter 2016 results will reflect the impact of planned and
unplanned maintenance activities at our three primary chemical
facilities,” stated Dan Greenwell, LSB’s President and CEO. “While the
reduced production associated with the various unplanned outages during
the quarter will collectively serve to bring our results in below our
expectations for the period, importantly, our main focus has been on
proactively identifying and completing the repairs and upgrades
necessary to position LSB to deliver significantly improved financial
performance in 2017. We are confident that the recent work that we have
done at Cherokee, Pryor and El Dorado, and over the past year, will
yield improving on-stream rates, translating into greater revenue and
EBITDA in the coming quarters.”
Facility Level Detail
As previously disclosed, LSB’s Cherokee, Alabama facility (“Cherokee
Facility” or “Cherokee”) began its scheduled bi-annual Turnaround on
July 23, 2016, which was completed on August 19, 2016. During start-up,
a head gasket failure on one of the ammonia plant’s three synthesis gas
compressors required the compressor to be taken out of service, which
reduced the facility’s ammonia production to approximately 340 tons per
day, as compared to its nameplate capacity of approximately 510 tons per
day. Repairs required selected major parts replacement, extending the
outage of that compressor. Cherokee resumed ammonia production at its
nameplate capacity of 510 tons per day on September 22, 2016. The
Company estimates that the impact to third quarter 2016 EBITDA as a
result of Cherokee’s reduced ammonia production, related lost fixed cost
absorption and additional repair expense will be between $4.0 million -
$4.5 million.
LSB’s Pryor, Oklahoma chemical facility (“Pryor Facility” or “Pryor”)
also had a Turnaround scheduled during the third quarter, as previously
disclosed. The scheduled maintenance activity began on August 26, 2016,
approximately two weeks earlier than initially planned. While in
Turnaround, management made the decision to perform additional work to
both the ammonia and urea plants in order to increase their reliability
going forward. Pryor’s ammonia and nitric acid plants are expected to
resume production on October 10, 2016 and its urea plant is expected to
resume production on October 15, 2016. The Company estimates that the
impact to third quarter 2016 EBITDA as a result of Pryor’s reduced
ammonia and UAN production, related lost fixed cost absorption and
additional repair expense will be between $7.0 million - $7.5 million.
After returning to service on July 31, 2016 following two weeks of
unplanned downtime related to a lightning strike that was previously
announced, the ammonia plant at LSB’s El Dorado facility was taken down
for a total of 18 days over the course of the third quarter to address
heat exchanger tube leaks and to make modifications to the process vent
system design to improve safety and reliability. El Dorado’s ammonia
plant has been in continuous operation since September 22, 2016. The
Company estimates that the impact to third quarter 2016 EBITDA as a
result of El Dorado’s reduced production, related lost fixed cost
absorption and additional repair expense will be between $14.0 million -
$14.5 million.
Outlook for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016
Despite the unplanned downtime, LSB was able to satisfy customer
commitments during the third quarter by utilizing product from
inventory. This inventory would have otherwise been sold during the
fourth quarter of 2016. Management believes the impact to fourth quarter
2016 EBITDA resulting from lower sales from lower beginning inventory,
reduced production, related lost fixed cost absorption and repair
expense will be in the range of $5.0 million - $5.5 million.
The Company has revised its previously disclosed outlook for full year
2016 Chemical Business sales volume as follows:
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Products
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Revised Outlook - Sales (tons)
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Previous Outlook - Sales (tons)
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Agriculture:
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UAN
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395,000 – 400,000
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435,000 – 445,000
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HDAN
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210,000 – 220,000
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210,000 – 220,000
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Ammonia
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100,000 – 110,000
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110,000 – 120,000
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Industrial, Mining and Other:
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Nitric acid
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525,000 – 535,000
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525,000 – 540,000
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LDAN/HDAN
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70,000 – 75,000
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75,000 – 85,000
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Ammonium nitrate solution
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68,000 – 73,000
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68,000 – 73,000
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Ammonia
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120,000 – 130,000
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135,000 – 145,000
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About LSB Industries, Inc.
LSB Industries, Inc., headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
manufactures and sells chemical products for the agricultural, mining,
and industrial markets. The Company owns and operates facilities in
Cherokee, Alabama, El Dorado, Arkansas and Pryor, Oklahoma, and operates
a facility for a global chemical company in Baytown, Texas. LSB’s
products are sold through distributors and directly to end customers
throughout the United States. Additional information about the Company
can be found on its website at www.lsbindustries.com.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements generally are identified by use of the
words “will”, “believes”, “expects”, “estimates”, “intends”,
“anticipates”, “plans to”, “should”, “estimates”, “projects”, or similar
expressions, including, without limitation, our sales outlook; impact of
reduced production, lost fixed cost absorption and repair expenses to
third quarter 2016 EBITDA; impact of lower sales from lower
beginning inventory, reduced production, related lost fixed cost
absorption and repair expenses to fourth quarter 2016 EBITDA;
identification and completion of repairs and upgrades to deliver
significantly improved financial performance in 2017; and improvement of
on-stream rates, translating into greater revenue and profit in the
coming quarters.
Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties.
Though we believe that expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such
expectation will prove to be correct. Actual results may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of various
factors, including, but not limited to: general economic conditions;
weather conditions; increased maintenance costs; ability to install
necessary equipment and renovations at our Facilities in a timely
manner; changes to federal legislation or adverse regulations; increased
competitive pressures, domestic and foreign; ability to complete
transactions to address our leveraged balance sheet and cash flow
requirements; loss of significant customers; increased costs of raw
materials; and other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” and “Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2015 and, if applicable, our Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K, which contain a
discussion of a variety of factors which could cause future outcomes to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this
release. All forward-looking statements included in this press release
are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements.
We expressly disclaim any obligation to update, amend or clarify any
forward-looking statement to reflect events, new information or
circumstances occurring after the date of this press release except as
required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161005006347/en/
Source: LSB Industries, Inc.
LSB Industries, Inc.:
Mark Behrman, 405-235-4546
Chief
Financial Officer
or
Investor Relations:
The
Equity Group Inc.
Fred Buonocore, 212-836-9607
Kevin Towle,
212-836-9620