2/15/2022

speaker
Alejandro Elizondo
Investor Relations Officer

Hello, and welcome to Alpex fourth quarter 2021 earnings webcast. I am Alejandro Elizondo, Alpex IRO. And today I have the pleasure of being joined by our CEO, Pepe Valdez, and our CFO, Jose Carlos Ponce. This presentation is divided into two parts. First, Mr. Valdez and Mr. Ponce will comment on Alpex fourth quarter and full year performance, guidance figures for 2022, as well as relevant events, including our recent agreement to acquire Octal. Afterwards, we will move on to Q&A. Please note that the information discussed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's future financial performance and prospects, which are subject to certain risks and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially and the company cautions the market not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements. Alpec undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. I'd like to remind everyone that today's webcast is being recorded and will be available on our website at alpec.com. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Pepe Valdez.

speaker
Pepe Valdez
Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Alejandro. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I hope you are all doing well. This morning, I'm very pleased to inform you that Alpec has completed 2021 on a very high note. Strengthening in global reference margins for our products helped the company achieve historical levels in terms of quarterly comparable and reported EBITDA. On an annualized basis, APEC matched or exceeded company records for revenues, volume, reported and comparable every day, as well as leverage. Let's start by reviewing the main topics we will cover in today's webcast. First, APEC significantly surpassed financial performance expectations for the fourth quarter and 2021 overall. Jose Carlos will review this in greater detail later in this presentation. Second, we recently signed an agreement to acquire Octal, a major PET sheet producer. We will discuss the transaction overall and how it aligns with our long-term growth and ESG strategies. And third, we will provide insight into 2022 guidance figures and assumptions which we released earlier today. Providing some context for the latest results during the fourth quarter, increased demand for petrochemical products was combined with a tighter global supply, specifically from China, which resulted in sharp increases to reference margins for key products in our portfolio. During November, China implemented energy rationing measures at coal-based power sites in an effort to improve air quality in the region prior to the 2022 Winter Olympics, as well as to meet their CO2 emissions reduction goals. As a result, output for both PET and EPS producers in the region was adversely affected, increasing Asian integrated polyester reference margin to an average of $431 per ton for the quarter and $359 per ton for the full year. Both figures were far higher than ALPEX revised guidance figure of $315 per ton which was based on the supply-demand balance expectations at the end of the previous quarter. North American polypropylene reference margins also remain at near record levels, averaging 47 cents per pound, a 9% decrease quarter on quarter, as propylene prices came down to match the cost of Asian import alternatives. At this point, I would like to turn the call over to Jose Carlos who will go into more detail regarding the effect of these changes on our financial results.

speaker
Jose Carlos Ponce
Chief Financial Officer

Thanks Pepe, and thank you all for being here with us today. I would first like to highlight some of Alpec's main achievements during the fourth quarter and for the year overall. Alpec matched 2020's record annual volume of 4.8 million tons by setting a record high for its plastics and chemicals segment. also achieved record quarterly comparable levita of $300 million with both the polyester and plastic and chemical segments posting their highest figures ever for any four quarter. Highest ever annual comparable levita of $962 million. Recovered $8 million in guaranteed debt from M&G Mexico during the quarter. Further reduced leverage to 1.1 times and regain our investment grade level rating with S&P. If we take a deeper look at volume, APEC reached 1.17 million tons this period, a small reduction of 2% quarter on quarter as demand for all of our products remained strong. In the polyester segment, volume was 1% higher quarter on quarter, benefiting from a lessened effect from extraordinary weather events, such as drought in Altamira during the third quarter, but affected due to plant maintenance at some of our production sites. In plastic and chemicals, volume was 11% lower quarter on quarter, mainly due to a scheduled turnaround maintenance at a recently acquired EPS facility in Pennsylvania, as well as normal four-quarter seasonality effects. On a full year basis, Alpec matched the record 4.8 million tons set in 2020, as the plastic and chemical segment set a new annual record of 1 million tons, thanks to the successful operation of its EPS facilities in the United States, offsetting the aforementioned effects related to the extraordinary weather in the polyester segment. Moving on to raw material price dynamics, the global economy has continued to show its strength, despite the resurgence of the Omicron variant. Average spot brand crude oil price increased to $79 per barrel, 9% higher than the same figure in the quarter. However, US reference paraxylene prices only increased by 1% versus last quarter, as margins for this product tightened globally. In plastic and chemicals, propylene prices averaged 66 cents per pound, a 20% decrease when compared to the previous quarter, to match the cost of import alternative formation. Switching over to EBITDA breakdown for the four quarter, we can see that comparable EBITDA was $300 million, 28% higher quarter on quarter. This was primarily due to higher than expected reference margins for our main products, as well as solid volumes across both segments. Reported EBITDA was $269 million, 4% lower quarter on quarter, as this result also included. A non-cash inventory loss of $11 million, a positive carry-forward effect of $6 million, and a one-time $25 million loss related to the footprint optimization as our Capra Lactam site in Mexico and staple fiber facility in Cooper River were shut down after years of low industry margins and profitability. If we turn our attention to results by key segment, we can see that polyester comparable levidad was $160 million, 49% higher quarter on quarter and marking the highest four quarter ever for the segment. Result largely benefited from a strong Asian polyester reference margins, which averaged $431 per ton after reaching peaks above $500 per ton at one point during the quarter. In plastic and chemicals, comparable levidad also reached a new quarterly record of $138 million, an increase of 11% quarter-on-quarter and 109% year-on-year. This was mainly due to the higher EPS margins stemming from strong demand coupled with lower supply common formation, and propylene margins which remained higher than expected to the end of the year. Moving on to analyze results, 2021 comparable EBITDA was a record-breaking $962 million, 60% higher year-on-year, and vastly exceeding a revised guidance figure of $850 million as a strong volume and margins for core products combined through the year. With regards to free cash flow generation in the quarter, net working capital investment decreased by $51 million, largely due to the declining price of propylene during the quarter. CapEx totaled $32 million and was mainly used for maintenance and minor asset replacements. positive free cash flow total $226 million has a strong EBITDA and a decreasing net working capital more than offset other expenses. And Alpec paid a $56 million shareholder dividend base based on strong results in 2021. Finally, regarding our financial position during the fourth quarter, Alpek's net debt decreased to $1.23 billion. Last 12 months, EBITDA increased sharply, resulting in an improved leverage of 1.1 times net debt to EBITDA. And if considering net debt to comparable EBITDA, we also see that Alpek further improved this ratio to 1.3 times. As a result of Alpek's improved financial position, But more importantly, after a thorough review of the company's business risk profile in December, S&P reverted Alpex credit rating to triple B minus on a standalone basis, equivalent to investment grade. As such, the company now holds stable investment grade ratings across all three major rating agencies. Thank you, everyone. And I will now turn the call back to Pepe.

Disclaimer

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