This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.
spk03: Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Acadian Timber Corp Q3 2023 Analyst Conference Call-In Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker, Susan Wood, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.
spk01: Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Acadian Timber's third quarter conference call. With me on the call today is Adam Schaparsky, Acadian's President and Chief Executive Officer. Before discussing Acadian's results, I'll first remind everyone that in discussing our third quarter financial and operating performance, the outlook for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, and responding to your questions, we may make forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, and future results may differ materially. For further information on our known risk factors, I encourage you to review our news release and MD&A, which are available on CDAR and on our website at AcadianTimber.com. I'll begin by outlining the financial and operational highlights for our third quarter ended September 30th, 2023. Adam will then provide some additional comments and discuss our outlook for the remainder of the year. Acadian generated solid financial results for the quarter ended September 30th, benefiting from continued stable regional demand and pricing for its products. Sales for the third quarter were $26.6 million, compared to $23.6 million in the same quarter of 2022. Sales volume, excluding biomass, increased 13% compared to the prior year period. Weighted average selling price, excluding biomass, increased 1% year over year, benefiting from strong softwood saw log and pulpwood prices driven by solid demand, partially offset by decreased hardwood saw log prices stemming from weakness in hardwood lumber pricing. Pricing for softwood saw logs increased 5% compared to the prior year period, driven by stable demand, while hardwood saw log pricing decreased 12% due to declines in end-use markets. Demand was strong for softwood pulpwood, resulting in a pricing increase of 19% year-over-year. Hardwood pulpwood pricing increased 2% over the same period of 2022. Biomass prices were 25% lower due to unfavorable product and customer mixes. Operating costs and expenses were $21.9 million during the third quarter compared to $19.2 million during the prior year period reflecting higher sales volumes. Weighted average variable costs excluding biomass were consistent with the prior year period with increased contractor rates being offset by lower fuel prices. Adjusted EBITDA was $4.9 million during the third quarter compared to $4.5 million in the prior year period reflecting higher operating income and gain on sale of timberlands. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 18% compared to 19% in the prior year period. Net income for the third quarter totaled $6.4 million, or 37 cents per share, compared to $4.8 million, or 29 cents per share, in the same period of 2022. The increase in net income compared to the prior year period was primarily the result of higher operating income, and non-cash fair value adjustments, as well as lower income tax expense. Acadian generated $4.3 million of free cash flow and declared dividends of $5 million to our shareholders during the third quarter, or 29 cents per share. I'll now move into the third quarter results for our New Brunswick operations. Sales for New Brunswick in the third quarter were $22.8 million compared to $19.9 million during the prior year period. Sales volume, excluding biomass, increased by 15%, primarily due to increased contractor availability. With regards to softwood saw logs and pulpwood, demand was strong, with volumes 19% higher for saw logs and 35% higher for pulpwood than the prior year period. New Brunswick pricing for softwood saw logs and softwood pulpwood increased 8% and 26%, respectively. compared to the prior year period. Hardwood saw log volumes in New Brunswick decreased 28%, while hardwood pulpwood volumes increased 9% compared to the prior year period as a result of a change in the harvest mix. Prices for hardwood saw logs were 9% lower than the prior year period due to weekend end use markets, while prices for hardwood pulpwood were 3% higher than the prior year period due to strong demand. Operating costs and expenses were $17.5 million during the third quarter compared to $15.4 million in the prior year period reflecting higher sales volumes. Weighted average variable costs excluding biomass were consistent with the prior year period with increased contractor rates being offset by lower fuel prices. New Brunswick's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $5.5 million compared to $4.6 million in the prior year period An adjusted EBITDA margin was 24% compared to 23% in the prior year period, primarily as a result of higher operating income. Switching over to Maine. Sales for Maine during the third quarter totaled $3.8 million compared to $3.7 million in the prior year period. Sales volume, excluding biomass, increased 6%, reflecting increased contractor availability, partially offset by unfavorable weather conditions as compared to the same period in the prior year. Softwood saw log volumes in Maine increased 5% as compared to the prior year period due to increased contractor capacity. In US dollar terms, pricing for softwood saw logs decreased only slightly by 4% compared to Q3 2022, reflecting stable demand but fewer export sales. Softwood pulpwood volumes were negligible during the quarter due to the shutdown of a key customer. Hardwood saw log volumes were also negligible during the quarter, but are typically modest in Maine. Hardwood pulpwood volumes increased 67% due to changes in harvest mix, although pricing decreased 9% in US dollar terms due to market conditions. Operating costs and expenses for the third quarter were $3.9 million compared to $3.5 million during the same period in 2022, reflecting higher harvesting activity. Weighted average variable costs, excluding biomass, were consistent with the prior year period, again, with higher contractor rates offset by lower fuel prices. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was negative $0.1 million compared to positive $0.2 million in the prior year period as a result of lower operating income, more specifically the timing of land management costs. Adjusted EBITDA margin was negative 4%, compared to 6% in the prior year period. With respect to Acadian's financial position at the end of the quarter, it remains strong, ending with a net liquidity position of $15.9 million, including funds available under our revolving credit facilities. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Adam.
spk00: Thank you, Susan, and good afternoon, everyone. As always, Acadian remains committed to health and safety as our number one priority And during the third quarter, there were no recordable safety incidents among our employees or our contractors. We are very proud of all the hard work and dedication towards safety that is shown on a daily basis across the entire organization. As Susan mentioned, we experienced a solid third quarter. While excessive rainfall impacted operations in Maine, operating conditions were favorable in New Brunswick. Ongoing efforts from the operations team It resulted in increased contractor capacity and allowed us to continue to catch up on the volume shortfalls experienced earlier in the year. We now believe that this hard work has put us in a position to achieve similar total volumes experienced in fiscal 2022. As you know, the weather can play a significant role in our operations, but Mother Nature seems to be cooperating so far in the fourth quarter. The current dynamics of the Northeast forestry sector resulted in stable pricing and demand during the third quarter. There remains some tension in the supply chain, which supports the stability of our weighted average sales pricing and allows for the recovery of the increased inflationary costs that we have experienced. Although we do not usually spend much time talking about our land sales, we have accumulated more than what has been experienced in recent years, with total proceeds of $670,000 recorded in the first three quarters of 2023. on the sale of approximately 20 acres of land. We will continue to evaluate the land base in both New Brunswick and Maine, and although we do not expect it to become a significant generator of cash flows for the business in the short term, we do believe that we will be able to continue to unlock potential in the future. A few comments on our carbon credit project. As we noted last quarter, the first 770,000 carbon credits associated with the project were registered in the American Carbon Registry on June 8th. under the name A New Katahdin Forestry Project. The team is currently working on the second reporting period, which is expected to produce approximately 215,000 credits, with the third reporting period credits expected to be developed later in fiscal 2024, resulting in approximately 215,000 additional credits. We are in regular contact with our third-party developer and understand that volumes of carbon credit sales have slowed somewhat over the last couple of quarters. as a result of a number of factors. However, pricing for voluntary improved forest management credits appears to be stable, which we expect to bode well for a project like Acadian's. And as buyers gravitate toward quality, we remain optimistic with regards to the monetization of the first 770,000 credits. Turning to our outlook for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, North American interest rates remain elevated and near-term pressure on the end-use market persists. However, inflationary pressures have begun to show signs of easing, and the consensus forecast for U.S. housing starts has risen to approximately 1.42 million starts in 2023. We remain confident that the stability of the northeastern forestry sector, combined with the long-term demand for new homes and recurring remodel activity, will continue to support the demand for our products. Though labor markets remain tight, As I noted, we continued to experience increased contractor availability during the third quarter. Some challenges remain, and management will continue to focus on further increasing our harvesting capacity through the remainder of the year and into 2024. In the short to medium term, inflation is expected to continue to impact our financial results through elevated contractor rates and fuel surcharges. Demand for Acadian saw logs is mainly driven by regional supply and demand, meaning that the stable demand experienced during the first three quarters is expected to continue to the balance of 2023. Pricing for softwood saw timber is expected to remain consistent for the remainder of the year, and although we have seen weaknesses in hardwood saw timber pricing throughout the summer, they appear to have stabilized as we exited the quarter. Demand for hardwood pulpwood is expected to remain steady, and softwood pulpwood markets are expected to remain at the improved levels experienced to date in 2023. In summary, as we finish the year, we expect continued solid financial and operating performance. Progress made, increasing contractor availability will benefit Acadian for the rest of 2023 and into the winter harvest season of 2024 and will remain a key focus. Acadian continues to benefit from a strong balance sheet, continued diversification of our markets, and a highly capable team focused on strong financial and operating performance. As always, we will remain focused on merchandising our products to obtain the highest margins available and making improvements throughout the business to maximize cash flows from our existing timberland assets. We continue to explore opportunities to grow, as demonstrated by our advancement into the carbon credit market, opportunistic land sales as evidenced year-to-date, and exploring additional land use opportunities, such as renewable energy and additional land leasing. With that, we are now available to take your questions. Operator?
spk03: Certainly. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star 1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. And one moment for our first question. Our first question will come from Arianna Millen of CIBC Capital Markets. Your line is open.
spk02: Hello. I hope all is well. My first question relates to contractor availability. In the MDMA, you mentioned that you'll continue to focus on increasing harvesting capacity in Q4 and into 2024. Do you see regional contractor capacity reaching the ceiling at some point, and have you seen the rate at which you're able to increase capacity slow down at all?
spk00: Good question. We've been working really hard at it. I think that as we move... through the remainder of the fall of 23 and into 2024, I think there's still some availability there for us. Through a lot of hard work by the team here, we've really been able to increase our understanding of the rates and what stresses our contractors, so we've been successful in increasing our capacity. Appreciate we're taking some of that from other people, so there will be some stress going forward. As far as a limit, I believe there probably is at some point. There's going to be a limit, but I do feel strongly that we're going to be able to achieve what we need to achieve from a contractor capacity to allow us to cut our full harvest moving forward. As a large landowner, the stability that affords us and it would afford a contractor makes it more attractive. Now that we have a handle on our contractors, I'm feeling very confident that we need move forward.
spk02: Okay, thanks. That's helpful. And then with regard to hardwood lumber prices, you mentioned that you've seen prices start to stabilize there. Do you expect this to continue, or do you still view further price decreases as a risk in the near term?
spk00: Yeah. And so there's hardwood lumber prices, which obviously end use, not our business, but it has an impact on our customers. That's a tough one. We understand they're stabilizing. I don't think, you know, I'm not sure it can go much lower, to be honest, based on what we're hearing from our customers. You know, fortunately for our business, the saw timber business, you know, we have a supply that is limited. And so, and when I say supply, regional supply that is limited, which has allowed us to keep our pricing pretty stable in relationship to the prices of lumber and hardwood lumber in particular. So we're feeling pretty confident that our prices have stabilized inside of Acadian moving forward. And now the business will be to make sure that we start increasing that as the price of lumber starts to increase in the future.
spk02: Okay, great. Thanks. That's all I have for now. So we'll get back in the queue.
spk00: Great. Thanks, Arianna.
spk03: Again, as a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. As a reminder, please press star one one on your telephone for any questions. And I would now like to turn the conference back to Adam for closing remarks.
spk00: Thank you, operator. On behalf of the board and management of Acadian, I would like to thank all of our shareholders for their ongoing support. Thank you. Stay safe. And we look forward to you joining us for our fourth quarter conference call on February 8th. Goodbye.
spk03: And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Disclaimer