7/16/2023

speaker
Antón Fernández
Investor Relations Officer

Good morning and welcome to Alpex second quarter 2023 earnings webcast. I am Antón Fernández, Alpex IRO, and today I'm glad to be joined by our CEO, Jorge Young, and our CFO, José Carlos Pons. Let's start by reviewing what we will be covering today. First, Jorge will provide context for the query results and elaborate on relevant events. Second, Jose Carlos will cover Alpec's second quarter financial performance. Third, updated guidance figures for the year will be discussed. And afterwards, we'll 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 uncertainties. 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 this webcast is being recorded and will be available on our website at alpec.com. I will now turn the call over to Jorge.

speaker
Jorge Young
Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Anton. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'll start off by highlighting that we have a comparable EBITDA of $201 million in the quarter and a significant improvement in free cash flow. reaching $216 million in the quarter, primarily from networking capital optimization. Now, let me provide some context for the quarter's performance. From an industry perspective, we're witnessing two particular factors. First, as China's economy continues to be softer than originally expected and with ocean freights back to historical levels, There is currently greater influence from Asian imports in the Americas, mainly for PET and EPS businesses. Second, North American feedstocks, such as paraxylene, maintain a disconnection versus Asian prices. We're taking action to mitigate these effects. Meanwhile, from a market perspective, consumers primarily in the Americas are moderating certain expenditures impacting the packaged goods, appliances, and construction industries, thereby affecting purchases during what is normally the start of the peak season. These effects have led to lower than expected volumes. Notwithstanding, We're confident that our end markets will continue to be resilient. Now, let's review the reference margins for our core products. For polyester, Asian integrated PET reference margins were 3% lower versus the previous quarter, averaging $332 per metric ton, in line with our expectation for the year. However, I would like to highlight that Chinese reference margins are becoming more relevant, particularly for our Middle East operations. These margins averaged $225 per ton, yet they closed at $203 per ton in the month of June as more Chinese supply has entered the market. As new capacity in the region has been ramping up, Polypropylene reference margins have stabilized, still averaging 17 cents per pound in line with our expectations for the quarter. EPS reference margins have continued to normalize, now with an average of 44 cents per pound, a 10% reduction quarter over quarter. And as mentioned earlier, Reference ocean freight costs have returned to previous levels, resulting in a reduction of import parity pricing, which particularly impacts PET and EPS. Moving on, I would like to highlight an important event that occurred just this week. ALPEC is refinancing the outstanding balance from the 2023 bond due in August with bank debt that includes $200 million sustainability link loan maturing in 2028. This represents Alpec's first transaction with an ESG component with key KPIs on carbon emissions and safety targets. We reiterate our commitment to all the targets we have established. Moreover, we have launched a project to add installed capacity to produce approximately 26,000 tons per year of EPS, expandable polystyrene, with recycled content in North America. This will be mainly focused on medical and electrodomestic applications, as well as major appliances. The startup is expected by the end of next year. At this point, Jose Carlos will review the financial results.

speaker
José Carlos Pons
Chief Financial Officer

Thank you Jorge. Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you today. Let me go into greater detail regarding the quarter. Overall volume was 1.2 million tons, an increase of 3% quarter over quarter as the beginning of peak season partially offset other factors. Comparable levita was $201 million, which is a reduction of 3% versus the previous quarter. and there was a significant improvement in free cash flow. Now, if we delve deeper into each segment. For polyester, volume was 994,000 tons, 5% higher quarter on quarter due to a slight demand recovery. However, it's still not at the levels we expected for the summer months. While in plastic and chemicals, volume was 213,000 tons, a reduction of 4% quarter on quarter as demand across the portfolio was affected by lower consumer spending as previously stated. And polypropylene dealing with a more supply in the Americas. However, we expect to regain some momentum in the second half of the year. Moving on to raw material price dynamics, US reference paraxylene prices increased by 1%. Yet, the disconnection between North American and Asian prices grew by 7% versus the previous quarter. This spread increased to $282, which led to imports arriving in the Americas with more competitive prices. In the plastic and chemical segment, average reference propylene prices decreased to 40 cents per pound, a 20% decrease when compared to the previous quarter, primarily due to the recently incorporated propylene supply in the region. Switching over to the EBITDA breakdown, overall comparable EBITDA was $201 million, 3% lower than in the previous quarter. As previously explained, we saw greater influence from Asia, which resulted in lower than expected volumes across our product portfolio, and a decrease in reference margins, particularly for PET and EPS. Reported EBITDA was $148 million, 21% lower quarter on quarter, and this result also included the following. A combined carry forward effect and an inventory adjustment of $40 million as raw material prices have decreased. A 13% million dollar loss primarily related to a non-cash hyperinflation effect in Argentina. And a slight impact to our fixed and utility costs from depreciation of the Mexican peso. If we take a closer look by segment, polyester comparable levidad was $127 million, 4% lower versus the previous quarter. And in plastic and chemicals, comparable levidad resulted in $70 million and 9% decrease quarter on quarter. In terms of free cash flow generation, CAPEX totaled $75 million and was mainly allocated towards the construction of the Corpus Christi Polymers Project and for scheduled maintenance. Networking capital investment was significantly improved by $284 million, achieved from a strong focus on managing inventories and collecting receivables. This figure significantly surpassed initial expectations for the year and resulted in a positive free cash flow of $216 million for the quarter and $186 million year to date. Regarding the company financial position during the quarter, Alpex net debt decreased to $1.9 million, while last 12 months reported EBITDA was $827 million, which led to a leverage ratio of 2.3 times net debt to EBITDA. Thank you, everyone. I will now turn the call back to Jorge.

Disclaimer

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