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| Statement |
|---|
| We will improve overall product mix and lower our carbon emissions by approximately 70% when fully operational |
| As Rajat mentioned, we are also supported by the fact that plate pricing continues to demonstrate a significant premium as overall demand for plate products remains high and this in turn continues to benefit our average price realizations, especially as we ramp up operations in our plate mill |
| We believe that EAF brings a tremendous strategic value two to Algoma |
| This will usher in the next phase of our Company that defines the future of Algoma provides the foundation for long-term value creation for our stakeholders and solidifies our leadership position at the forefront of green steel production in North America |
| And finally, the outlook for our end markets calls for an improvement in pricing relative to calendar year 2023 |
| Our results for the fiscal third quarter of 2024 were in line with our previously disclosed guidance on both shipments and adjusted EBITDA, and we achieved year-over-year improvements in nearly all of our key metrics |
| That stronger pricing is expected to begin benefiting our financial results in the fiscal fourth quarter, which unfortunately will be largely offset by impacts related to the outage caused by the incident at our coke-making plan that I will discuss in more detail shortly |
| Plate pricing continued to enjoy a significant premium relative to hot-rolled coil during the quarter, driven by resilient demand particularly from spending on infrastructure projects and durables goods |
| Our plate and strip operations ran well in the quarter even as we completed a normal seasonal maintenance including our annual steelmaking vessel inline |
| This resulted in adjusted EBITDA in the quarter of negative CAD 1 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of negative 0.2%, an improvement from negative CAD 35.9 million and negative 6.3% in the year ago period |
| At Algoma, we uphold an unwavering commitment to safety, which has resulted in a notable improvement to lost time injury performance year-to-date |
| Steel revenue in the quarter totaled CAD 556.9 million, up 8.8% versus the same quarter of last year reflecting the increase in shipments that more than offset lower average realizations per ton of steel |
| Combined, this roughly matches the expected capital requirements to complete the project, highlighting our ability to advance this transformative project as planned |
| We expect higher production levels of plate going forward, which will allow us to capture market opportunities and to build inventory ahead of the planned outages for the implementation of the final pieces of the modernization project |
| Pricing so far in 2024 has come in with index prices dropping by approximately $50 and futures falling into the mid $800 per ton US average for the balance of 2024, while off from year-end highs these prices still represent a meaningful improvement from levels seen during much of 2023 |
| We shipped 516,000 tons in the quarter up 12.6% as compared to the prior year period |
| We have structured our balance sheet such that the only long-term debt we carry is in the form of government loans linked to our capital projects, allowing us to maintain a very low leverage profile, with ample liquidity of nearly CAD 400 million at quarter end to manage through market fluctuation and complete our capital initiatives |
| Our long-term strategy remains unchanged and on track to successfully execute the transition to being one of North America's greenest producers of steel |
| When factoring in coke inventories on hand, the availability of third-party coke and our partial production capabilities, we are able to satisfy all of our steel-making raw material input, while at the same time pursuing a permanent repair plan for the plant |
| Thankfully during the incident of none of the three batteries suffered any thermal integrity degradation, we were able to protect the thermal integrity of all of all three batteries |
| The EAF will ultimately increase our throughput capacity by roughly a third from CAD2.8 million tons per year of liquid steel making capacity by conventional means today for CAD3.7 million tons employing dual furnaces upon completion |
| We are well positioned today and we look at our expected sources for those expenditures over the course of 2024 |
| 2024 will be an important year in the story of Algoma as we continue to execute work towards the commissioning of our transformative EAF project |
| We remain steadfast in our pursuit of zero workplace injuries |
| The higher output will match our expanded downstream finishing capacity as we increase capacity at our plate mill |
| I'd like to once again thank all of our employees for their hard work, dedication and professionalism |
| Looking prospectively, we do expect the fourth fiscal quarter to experienced directionally higher EBITDA versus the third fiscal quarter |
| As is customary, I'll start by highlighting our top priority, the safety of our employees |
| Coke making operations were suspended at the time of the incident and we were able to stabilize heat to all three batteries and resume partial coke production within 72 hours of the incident |
| Good morning and thank you all for joining the call |
| Statement |
|---|
| The blast furnace experienced operational challenges upon initial restart due to unforeseen impacts related to the piping collapse |
| On account of the Coke-Making utility structure collapse and the related operational outages, we expect to release 70% less than originally expected amount in the fourth fiscal quarter |
| Net sales realization averaged CAD1,079 per ton down 3.3% versus the prior year period |
| The decrease versus the prior year level primarily reflects somewhat softer market conditions in the quarter, in particular the residual lower prices resulting from the UAW strike and due to the lagging nature of our order book |
| Due to the lagging nature of our order book, realized pricing in the quarter did not yet reflect the run-up in markets around the end of the UAW strike |
| As we also disclosed previously at the time of the incident, we temporarily suspended blast furnace operations for safety reasons |
| But the impact of the Coke-Making plant incident will result in higher levels of inventory for inputs like ore and coal, delaying some of that anticipated inventory release |
| And at that point in time, our iron ore and coal inventory will go down substantially, as well |
| As we previously disclosed on January 20 and January 23, there was an incident at our coke making plant that involved the collapse of a structure supporting utilities plankton |
| So and come next quarter we should get down to our full production levels |
| On the cost side, although most cost per ton of steel products sold averaged 10.07 in the quarter, down 11.2% versus the prior year period |
| But the event did impact several utilities that service the coke batteries and other facilities throughout the steelworks |
| Promised performance will obviously be impacted by the production outage related to the utility structure collapse |
| I think the up the blast furnace disruption, it was more related to the utility service incident at coke making, we've restarted it and are slowly bringing it back to good |
| So, as far as, you know the added fixed cost is concerned, it's that and the maintenance costs will not be much as it is a new asset |
| All told, we expect the incident to impact production and shipments for more than three weeks, totaling roughly 120,000 tons to 150,000 tons |
| Thankfully there were no injuries |
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