RAMACO RESOURCES REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2024 RESULTS
Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: METC) reported first-quarter 2024 financial results with adjusted EBITDA at $24.2 million, net income at $2.0 million, and Class A EPS at $0.00. The company faced challenges due to lower index pricing and higher mine costs but remains optimistic about improving results. The Board declared cash dividends and extended its Revolver facility. Market commentary indicates the expectation of increased production and declining costs in the latter half of 2024. The Company continues progress on its growth initiatives and critical mineral projects.
The Company maintains full-year 2024 guidance with 4.2 million tons of committed sales at an average realized price of $162 per ton, indicating growth initiatives are on track.
The recent agreement to extend and increase the Revolver facility with KeyBank, NA and a bank syndicate demonstrates the Company's financial strength and flexibility.
First-quarter 2024 results saw a decline in adjusted EBITDA and net income due to lower index pricing and higher mine costs, reflecting challenging market conditions.
Cash margins per ton decreased in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to weaker market conditions and higher cash costs.
FIRST QUARTER 2024 HIGHLIGHTS
- For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, certain non-operating expenses, and equity-based compensation ("Adjusted EBITDA", a non-GAAP measure), of
, compared to$24.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. (See "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measure" below.)$58.5 million
- For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company had net income of
, compared to$2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Class A EPS was$30.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to$0.00 for the three months ended December 31, 2023.$0.60
- First quarter of 2024 results were negatively impacted by a combination of lower index pricing, especially in March, and higher mine costs. The Company shipped over half of its export tons in March, when indices were at their lows. In addition, first quarter of 2024 mine costs were impacted by challenging geology and labor constraints at
Elk Creek , both of which are expected to improve throughout the second quarter, and especially in the back half of 2024.
- The Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of
per share on the CORE Resources Class B shares. This will be payable on June 15, 2024, to shareholders of record on June 1, 2024. The payout level of the Class B dividend based on royalties and infrastructure income has remained steady for the past few quarters. The Board also approved and declared a quarterly Class A common stock cash dividend of$0.23 76 per share for the second quarter of 2024, which is payable on June 15, 2024, to shareholders of record on June 1, 2024.$0.13 75 - The Company recently closed an agreement to both extend and increase the size of its existing Revolver facility with KeyBank, NA and a bank syndicate. The new facility increases the Revolver from
to$125 million with an accordion feature to increase the ultimate size by an additional amount of$200 million to$75 million . The term of the new facility is five years, increased from an original three years.$275 million
MARKET COMMENTARY / 2024 OUTLOOK
- The Company is maintaining all full-year 2024 guidance, which can be seen in the "Financial Guidance" section of today's press release.
- The Company has 1.4 million tons committed to North American customers at an average realized price of
per ton, and 0.7 million tons mostly already shipped and sold to seaborne customers at an average realized price of$167 per ton, for a total of 2.1 million tons committed at an average realized price of$150 per ton. The Company has an additional 2.0 million tons committed at mostly index-linked pricing for delivery to export customers, bringing total 2024 sales commitments to 4.2 million tons. This would equate to$162 100% of the midpoint of 2024 production guidance.
- The Company notes that its 4 main growth initiatives for 2024 remain on track and on budget. The additions of the Ram 3 surface / highwall mine and the third section at the Stonecoal Alma mine should ultimately add roughly 600,000 tons to overall 2024 Elk Creek production on an annualized basis, with both beginning to ramp up by mid-year 2024. The addition of the third section at the
Berwind mine should ultimately add roughly 300,000 tons of low vol production on an annualized basis, with first production during the fourth quarter of 2024. Costs at these new mines are anticipated to be roughly per ton on a combined basis. Lastly, we continue to anticipate the prep plant at$90 -95Maben to be fully operational before year-end 2024, which will reduce current trucking costs of approximately per ton.$40
- The Company anticipates second quarter shipments of 850,000 – 950,000 tons of coal and expects an increasing sales cadence throughout 2024. As noted above, Ramaco anticipates adding almost 1 million tons of annualized production compared to current run-rates before year-end 2024. Overall mine costs are expected to meaningfully decline in the back half of 2024, as volumes are anticipated to be materially above levels in the first half of 2024.
- The Company continues to progress on additional mining and chemical testing at its critical mineral Brook Mine in
Sheridan, Wyoming . The Company continues to anticipate the completion of its techno economic analysis of the project within 2024.
MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY
Randall Atkins, Ramaco Resources' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Our first quarter results were clearly below our expectations. This was due to the combination of lower prices throughout the quarter and especially in March, as well as higher than expected mine costs from challenging geology and labor conditions at
There are similarities about the start to this year that we have seen before. In 2023, we had the dynamic where the second half of the year was significantly stronger than the first half of the year. This was due not only to seasonal influences of steel markets, but importantly also from an operational standpoint. We went from being a 3 to a 4 million ton per annum company in the second half with resulting positive financial impact. Ironically, in 2024 an analogous situation may play out.
By this fourth quarter, we hope to be producing almost a million tons more on an annualized basis. It is our goal to exit 2024 at almost a 5 million ton per annum sales and production rate, as well as reduce our cost profile to at or below
In terms of the met markets, prices fell meaningfully by about
Since March, pricing appears to have recently stabilized. There are perhaps several reasons including renewed buying activity from Asian steel mills, coupled with the closure of some higher cost, mostly high vol
Looking forward, we expect the market to largely "crab walk" in Q2 as prices remain range bound. Fortunately, we have already essentially placed all of our coal sales for the year at guidance levels. There are reasons, however, for some optimism in the second half as Asian markets look to rebound and recover some lost momentum and softening in
On our critical minerals front, we continue to make progress in terms of initial mine development and related chemical testing of our rare earth elements and critical minerals at the Brook Mine in
As a reminder, in March Weir International, Inc. issued a revised technical exploration report regarding Ramaco's rare earth opportunity. In terms of its key findings, both the reported rare earth tonnage volume and concentration estimates essentially doubled since Weir's initial May 2023 Report. Importantly, a number of material lithologies showed maximum ppm concentrations exceeding 9,000 ppm, including from coal. In addition, over
Lastly, we recently closed an agreement to both extend and increase the size of our existing Revolver with a banking syndicate led by KeyBank, NA. The new facility increases the Revolver from
In summary, we had a challenging quarter. We will move beyond it. We look forward to improving our operational and financial results throughout the remainder of the year as we execute on both our metallurgical coal production growth strategy, while advancing the commercial development of our Brook Mine REE and critical mineral project."
Key operational and financial metrics are presented below:
Key Metrics | ||||||||||
1Q24 | 4Q23 | Chg. | 1Q23 | Chg. | ||||||
Total Tons Sold ('000) | 929 | 988 | (6) % | 757 | 23 % | |||||
Revenue ($mm) | $ | 172.7 | $ | 202.7 | (15) % | $ | 166.4 | 4 % | ||
Cost of Sales ($mm) | $ | 139.7 | $ | 139.4 | 0 % | $ | 110.5 | 26 % | ||
Non-GAAP Pricing of Tons Sold ($/Ton) 1 | $ | 155 | $ | 175 | (11) % | $ | 188 | (18) % | ||
Non-GAAP Cash Cost of Sales ($/Ton) 1 | $ | 118 | $ | 107 | 10 % | $ | 109 | 8 % | ||
Non-GAAP Cash Margins on Tons Sold ($/Ton) | $ | 37 | $ | 68 | (46) % | $ | 79 | (53) % | ||
Net Income ($mm) | $ | 2.0 | $ | 30.0 | (93) % | $ | 25.3 | (92) % | ||
Diluted EPS - Class A Common Stock | $ | (0.00) | $ | 0.60 | (100) % | $ | 0.57 | (100) % | ||
Adjusted EBITDA ($mm) 1 | $ | 24.2 | $ | 58.5 | (59) % | $ | 48.3 | (50) % | ||
Capex ($mm) | $ | 18.7 | $ | 18.0 | 4 % | $ | 23.5 | (20) % | ||
Adjusted EBITDA less Capex ($mm) | $ | 5.4 | $ | 40.5 | (87) % | $ | 24.7 | (78) % |
(1) See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures" |
Differences may occur due to rounding. |
FIRST QUARTER 2024 PERFORMANCE
In the following paragraphs, all references to "quarterly" periods or to "the quarter" refer to the first quarter of 2024, unless specified otherwise.
Year over Year Quarterly Comparison
Overall production in the quarter was 844,000 tons, up
Quarterly pricing was
Quarter over Quarter Comparison
First quarter of 2024 production was 844,000 tons, up
The realized price of
BALANCE SHEET AND LIQUIDITY
As of March 31, 2024, the Company had liquidity of
On March 31, 2024, accounts receivable hit record quarter-end levels of
The Company's effective quarterly tax rate was
The following summarizes key sales, production and financial metrics for the periods noted:
Three months ended | |||||||||
March 31, | December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
In thousands, except per ton amounts | 2024 | 2023 | 2023 | ||||||
Sales Volume (tons) | 929 | 988 | 757 | ||||||
Company Production (tons) | |||||||||
Elk Creek Mining Complex | 467 | 412 | 611 | ||||||
Berwind Mining Complex (includes Knox Creek and | 377 | 333 | 223 | ||||||
Total | 844 | 745 | 834 | ||||||
Per Ton Financial Metrics (a) | |||||||||
Average revenue per ton | $ | 155 | $ | 175 | $ | 188 | |||
Average cash costs of coal sold | 118 | 107 | 109 | ||||||
Average cash margin per ton | $ | 37 | $ | 68 | $ | 79 | |||
Capital Expenditures | $ | 18,730 | $ | 17,980 | $ | 23,546 |
(a) | Metrics are defined and reconciled under "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures." |
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE (In thousands, except per ton amounts and percentages) | |||||
Full-Year | Full-Year | ||||
2024 Guidance | 2023 | ||||
Company Production (tons) | 4,000 - 4,400 | 3,174 | |||
Sales (tons) (a) | 4,200 - 4,600 | 3,455 | |||
Cash Costs Per Ton Sold (b) | $ | 105 - 111 | $ | 110 | |
Other | |||||
Capital Expenditures (c) | $ | 53,000 - 63,000 | $ | 82,904 | |
Selling, general and administrative expense (d) | $ | 38,000 - 42,000 | $ | 35,926 | |
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization expense | $ | 62,000 - 68,000 | $ | 54,252 | |
Interest expense, net | $ | 4,000 - 5,000 | $ | 8,903 | |
Effective tax rate (e) | 20 - | 21 % | |||
Idle Mine Costs | $ | 0 | $ | 3,978 | |
(a) | Includes purchased coal. |
(b) | Excludes transportation costs, alternative mineral development costs, and idle mine costs. |
(c) | Excludes capitalized interest for 2023. |
(d) | Excludes stock-based compensation. |
(e) | Normalized to exclude discrete items. |
Committed 2024 Sales Volume(a)
(In millions, except per ton amounts) | |||||
2024 | |||||
Volume | Average Price | ||||
1.4 | $ | 167 | |||
Seaborne, fixed priced | 0.7 | $ | 150 | ||
Total, fixed priced | 2.1 | $ | 162 | ||
Index priced | 2.0 | ||||
Total committed tons | 4.2 |
(a) | Amounts as of April 30, 2024 and include purchased coal. Totals may not add due to rounding. Does not include committed sales expected to be fulfilled in later years. |
ABOUT RAMACO RESOURCES
Ramaco Resources, Inc. is an operator and developer of high-quality, low-cost metallurgical coal in southern
FIRST QUARTER 2024 CONFERENCE CALL
Ramaco Resources will hold its quarterly conference call and webcast at 9:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, May 9, 2024. An accompanying slide deck will be available at https://www.ramacoresources.com/investors/investor-presentations/ immediately before the conference call.
To participate in the live teleconference on May 9, 2024:
Domestic Live: (877) 317-6789
International Live: (412) 317-6789
Conference ID: Ramaco Resources First Quarter 2024 Results
Web link: Click Here
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent Ramaco Resources' expectations or beliefs concerning guidance, future events, anticipated revenue, future demand and production levels, macroeconomic trends, the development of ongoing projects, costs and expectations regarding operating results, and it is possible that the results described in this news release will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Ramaco Resources' control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation, unexpected delays in our current mine development activities, the ability to successfully ramp up production at the
Ramaco Resources, Inc. | |||||||
Three months ended March 31, | |||||||
In thousands, except per share amounts | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
Revenue | $ | 172,676 | $ | 166,360 | |||
Costs and expenses | |||||||
Cost of sales (exclusive of items shown separately below) | 139,713 | 110,549 | |||||
Asset retirement obligations accretion | 354 | 350 | |||||
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization | 15,220 | 11,852 | |||||
Selling, general, and administrative | 14,114 | 11,742 | |||||
Total costs and expenses | 169,401 | 134,493 | |||||
Operating income | 3,275 | 31,867 | |||||
Other income (expense), net | 629 | 1,247 | |||||
Interest expense, net | (1,332) | (2,309) | |||||
Income before tax | 2,572 | 30,805 | |||||
Income tax expense | 540 | 5,548 | |||||
Net income | $ | 2,032 | $ | 25,257 | |||
Earnings per common share | |||||||
Basic - Single class (through 6/20/2023) | $ | N/A | $ | 0.57 | |||
Basic - Class A | $ | (0.00) | $ | — | |||
Total | $ | (0.00) | $ | 0.57 | |||
Basic - Class B | $ | 0.24 | $ | — | |||
Diluted - Single class (through 6/20/23) | $ | N/A | $ | 0.57 | |||
Diluted - Class A | $ | (0.00) | $ | — | |||
Total | $ | (0.00) | $ | 0.57 | |||
Diluted - Class B | $ | 0.23 | $ | — |
Ramaco Resources, Inc. Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||||||
In thousands, except per-share amounts | March 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||
Assets | ||||||
Current assets | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 30,503 | $ | 41,962 | ||
Accounts receivable | 103,539 | 96,866 | ||||
Inventories | 41,280 | 37,163 | ||||
Prepaid expenses and other | 7,286 | 13,748 | ||||
Total current assets | 182,608 | 189,739 | ||||
Property, plant, and equipment, net | 466,253 | 459,091 | ||||
Financing lease right-of-use assets, net | 17,148 | 10,282 | ||||
Advanced coal royalties | 3,410 | 2,964 | ||||
Other | 4,592 | 3,760 | ||||
Total Assets | $ | 674,011 | $ | 665,836 | ||
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | ||||||
Liabilities | ||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||
Accounts payable | $ | 59,694 | $ | 51,624 | ||
Accrued liabilities | 49,657 | 52,225 | ||||
Current portion of asset retirement obligations | 110 | 110 | ||||
Current portion of long-term debt | 28,227 | 56,534 | ||||
Current portion of financing lease obligations | 8,541 | 5,456 | ||||
Insurance financing liability | 2,238 | 4,037 | ||||
Total current liabilities | 148,467 | 169,986 | ||||
Asset retirement obligations, net | 29,197 | 28,850 | ||||
Long-term debt, net | 24,739 | 349 | ||||
Long-term financing lease obligations, net | 8,543 | 4,915 | ||||
Senior notes, net | 33,412 | 33,296 | ||||
Deferred tax liability, net | 52,424 | 54,352 | ||||
Other long-term liabilities | 4,961 | 4,483 | ||||
Total liabilities | 301,743 | 296,231 | ||||
Commitments and contingencies | — | — | ||||
Stockholders' Equity | ||||||
Preferred stock, | — | — | ||||
Class A common stock, | 443 | 440 | ||||
Class B common stock, | 88 | 88 | ||||
Additional paid-in capital | 279,962 | 277,133 | ||||
Retained earnings | 91,775 | 91,944 | ||||
Total stockholders' equity | 372,268 | 369,605 | ||||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | $ | 674,011 | $ | 665,836 |
Ramaco Resources, Inc. Unaudited Statement of Cash Flows | |||||||
Three months ended March 31, | |||||||
In thousands | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
Cash flows from operating activities | |||||||
Net income | $ | 2,032 | $ | 25,257 | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities: | |||||||
Accretion of asset retirement obligations | 354 | 350 | |||||
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization | 15,220 | 11,852 | |||||
Amortization of debt issuance costs | 207 | 149 | |||||
Stock-based compensation | 4,702 | 2,937 | |||||
Other | (23) | — | |||||
Deferred income taxes | (1,928) | 2,154 | |||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||
Accounts receivable | (6,673) | (29,925) | |||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 6,462 | 4,779 | |||||
Inventories | (4,117) | (5,998) | |||||
Other assets and liabilities | (494) | (823) | |||||
Accounts payable | 6,301 | 13,902 | |||||
Accrued liabilities | 3,145 | (3,272) | |||||
Net cash from operating activities | 25,188 | 21,362 | |||||
Cash flow from investing activities: | |||||||
Capital expenditures | (18,730) | (23,546) | |||||
Other | 65 | 1,182 | |||||
Net cash used for investing activities | (18,665) | (22,364) | |||||
Cash flows from financing activities | |||||||
Proceeds from borrowings | 51,500 | 45,000 | |||||
Payments of dividends | (8,319) | (5,556) | |||||
Repayment of borrowings | (55,417) | (24,145) | |||||
Repayment of Ramaco Coal acquisition financing - related party | — | (10,000) | |||||
Repayments of insurance financing | (1,799) | (1,433) | |||||
Repayments of equipment finance leases | (2,077) | (1,746) | |||||
Shares surrendered for withholding taxes | (1,870) | (115) | |||||
Net cash used financing activities | (17,982) | 2,005 | |||||
Net change in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | (11,459) | 1,003 | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period | 42,781 | 36,473 | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 31,322 | $ | 37,476 |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure by management and external users of our financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders, and rating agencies. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful because it allows us to evaluate our operating performance more effectively.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income plus net interest expense; equity-based compensation; depreciation, depletion, and amortization expenses; income taxes; certain non-operating expenses (charitable contributions), and accretion of asset retirement obligations. Its most comparable GAAP measure is net income. A reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA is included below. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to serve as a substitute for GAAP measures of performance and may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures presented by other companies.
Q1 | Q4 | Q1 | |||||||
(In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | 2023 | ||||||
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA | |||||||||
Net income | $ | 2,032 | $ | 30,038 | $ | 25,257 | |||
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization | 15,220 | 14,401 | 11,852 | ||||||
Interest expense, net | 1,332 | 1,630 | 2,309 | ||||||
Income tax expense | 540 | 8,829 | 5,548 | ||||||
EBITDA | 19,124 | 54,898 | 44,966 | ||||||
Stock-based compensation | 4,702 | 3,199 | 2,937 | ||||||
Accretion of asset retirement obligations | 354 | 354 | 350 | ||||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 24,180 | $ | 58,451 | $ | 48,253 |
Non-GAAP revenue and cash cost per ton
Non-GAAP revenue per ton (FOB mine) is calculated as coal sales revenue less transportation costs including demurrage costs, divided by tons sold. Non-GAAP cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine) is calculated as cash cost of coal sales less transportation costs, alternative mineral development costs, and idle and other costs, divided by tons sold. We believe revenue per ton (FOB mine) and cash cost per ton (FOB mine) provide useful information to investors as these enable investors to compare revenue per ton and cash cost per ton for the Company against similar measures made by other publicly-traded coal companies and more effectively monitor changes in coal prices and costs from period to period excluding the impact of transportation costs, which are beyond our control, and alternative mineral costs, which are more developmentally focused currently. The adjustments made to arrive at these measures are significant in understanding and assessing the Company's financial performance. Revenue per ton sold (FOB mine) and cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine) are not measures of financial performance in accordance with GAAP and therefore should not be considered as a substitute for revenue and cost of sales under GAAP. The tables below show how we calculate non-GAAP revenue and cash cost per ton:
Non-GAAP revenue per ton
(In thousands, except per ton amounts) | Q1 2024 | Q4 2023 | Q1 2023 | ||||||
Revenue | $ | 172,676 | $ | 202,729 | $ | 166,360 | |||
Less: Adjustments to reconcile to Non-GAAP revenue (FOB mine) | |||||||||
Transportation | (28,285) | (30,287) | (24,446) | ||||||
Non-GAAP revenue (FOB mine) | $ | 144,391 | $ | 172,442 | $ | 141,914 | |||
Tons sold | 929 | 988 | 757 | ||||||
Revenue per ton sold (FOB mine) | $ | 155 | $ | 175 | $ | 188 |
Non-GAAP cash cost per ton
(In thousands, except per ton amounts) | Q1 2024 | Q4 2023 | Q1 2023 | ||||||
Cost of sales | $ | 139,713 | $ | 139,410 | $ | 110,549 | |||
Less: Adjustments to reconcile to Non-GAAP cash cost of sales | |||||||||
Transportation costs | (28,876) | (31,272) | (24,481) | ||||||
Alternative mineral development costs | (1,135) | (1,107) | (980) | ||||||
Idle and other costs | (237) | (1,041) | (2,559) | ||||||
Non-GAAP cash cost of sales | $ | 109,465 | $ | 105,990 | $ | 82,529 | |||
Tons sold | 929 | 988 | 757 | ||||||
Cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine) | $ | 118 | $ | 107 | $ | 109 |
We do not provide reconciliations of our outlook for cash cost per ton to cost of sales in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided for under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. We are unable, without unreasonable efforts, to forecast certain items required to develop the meaningful comparable GAAP cost of sales. These items typically include non-cash asset retirement obligation accretion expenses, mine idling expenses and other non-recurring indirect mining expenses that are difficult to predict in advance in order to include a GAAP estimate.
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SOURCE Ramaco Resources, Inc.
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