AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results

Coronavirus Update

• We continue to apply all safety measures at our disposal with the highest degree of attention in order to ensure our employees are working in the lowest risk environment possible. Hospitalizations remain at a very low level and presently AMG has zero hospitalizations. AMG has not experienced a facility closure or operational interruption.
  
  

Strategic Highlights

• Our Enabling CO₂ Reduction Portfolio (ECO₂RP) in 2021 enabled 79.0 million tons of CO₂ reduction, 40% more than the 56.6 million tons of enabled CO₂ reduction in 2020.
• AMG today announces a 2030 commitment to reduce direct CO₂ emissions as well as commitment to increase its ECO₂RP portfolio over the same time period.
• The construction of AMG Vanadium’s second spent catalyst recycling facility in Zanesville, Ohio is proceeding as planned. Commissioning has begun and the plant is forecast to achieve full run rate capacity in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. (SARBV) continues to pursue circular refinery residue opportunities globally.
• AMG Brazil will increase its spodumene production by 40,000 tons, bringing its production capacity to 130,000 tons per annum. The project is currently in detailed engineering, with construction planned to commence at the beginning of the second half of 2022, and mechanical completion at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
• Site preparation and building site facilities have started in Bitterfeld, Germany and commissioning for the first module of the battery grade lithium hydroxide upgrader will commence in the third quarter of 2023.
• AMG’s first lithium vanadium battery ("LIVA”) for industrial power management applications is proceeding as planned.
• In December, AMG announced that it will bring its lithium value chain under one new corporate entity to further increase the long-term value of AMG’s lithium activities. AMG Lithium activities are comprised of AMG’s Brazilian mining and processing plants as well as the German hydroxide project and include the Lithium solid-state battery research and development activities in Frankfurt.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue increased by 30% to $330.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 from $253.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• EBITDA was $43.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, 95% higher than the fourth quarter 2020 EBITDA of $22.5 million, marking the sixth straight quarter of sequential improvement. On a full-year basis, EBITDA in 2021 of $136.7 was more than double full year 2020 EBITDA.
• Cash from operating activities was $30.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, and $90.8 million on a year-to-date basis, compared to $19.6 for full year 2020.
• AMG’s liquidity as of December 31, 2021, was $508 million, with $338 million of unrestricted cash and $170 million of revolving credit availability.
• The total 2021 dividend proposed is €0.40 per ordinary share, including the interim dividend of €0.10, paid on August 13, 2021.
• In November, AMG entered into a new $350 million 7-year senior secured term loan B facility and a $200 million 5-year senior secured revolving credit facility, which together replaced AMG’s prior credit facility and extended the term loan maturity from 2025 to 2028 and revolver maturity from 2023 to 2026. Further strengthening AMG’s commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), annual CO₂ intensity reduction targets were built into the Revolving Credit Facility, making it a Sustainability Linked Loan.

Amsterdam, 23 February 2022 (Regulated Information) --- AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. ("AMG”, EURONEXT AMSTERDAM: "AMG”) reported fourth quarter 2021 revenue of $330.4 million, a 30% increase over $253.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $43.9 million, a 95% increase over $22.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This also marks the sixth straight quarter of sequential growth after the pandemic low point in the second quarter of 2020.

Dr. Heinz Schimmelbusch, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, said, "With regard to COVID, we continue to apply all safety measures at our disposal with the highest degree of attention in order to ensure our employees are working in the lowest risk environment possible.

"AMG continued to sequentially improve EBITDA in the fourth quarter and on a full-year basis 2021 EBITDA more than doubled 2020 EBITDA. AMG continues to see price increases and strong volumes throughout our portfolio. Our Clean Energy Materials segment continues to deliver strong EBITDA, which more than tripled since the fourth quarter of 2020, its seventh straight quarter of sequentially increasing EBITDA.

"We are pleased to announce our Enabling CO₂ Reduction Portfolio (ECO₂RP) in 2021 enabled 79.0 million tons of CO₂ reduction, 40% more than the 56.6 million tons of enabled CO₂ reduction in 2020.

"As regard to our key strategic projects, the construction of the ferrovanadium plant in Zanesville, Ohio, which will essentially double our recycling capacity for refinery residues, is nearly complete. Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. continues to pursue circular refinery residue opportunities globally; this project advances the goals of a circular economy and is essential in achieving societal benefits of reducing global CO₂ emissions. AMG Brazil will increase its spodumene production by 40,000 tons, bringing its production capacity to 130,000 tons per annum. We have begun site preparation for our new lithium hydroxide production facility in Germany and the groundbreaking ceremony will take place on May 11^th. AMG’s first lithium vanadium battery ("LIVA”) for industrial power management applications is proceeding as planned.

"During AMG’s Capital Markets Day on January 11^th we explained our strategy to further develop our lithium value chain activities and commented on the strategic options.”

Key Figures

Notes:

(1)   EBIT is defined as earnings before interest and income taxes. EBIT excludes restructuring, asset impairment, inventory cost adjustments, environmental provisions, exceptional legal expenses, equity-settled share-based payments, and strategic expenses. Beginning January 1, 2021, AMG has altered its calculation of adjusted EBIT to no longer include the impact of foreign exchange. This alteration was made in consideration of a change in the Company’s hedging policy and to better align the reported adjusted EBITDA with the calculation for our bank covenant calculations. Starting January 2021, the Company is no longer hedging European cash pool intergroup balance sheet exposures which will result in higher volatility in our financial results from foreign exchange which we believe is not representative of our operating performance. Foreign exchange loss in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $2.8 million. Because of this hedging policy change, we did not retroactively apply this change to the prior year figures, otherwise it would have resulted in a decrease to the prior period EBIT of $1.1 million.
(2)   EBITDA is defined as EBIT adjusted for depreciation and amortization.

Operational Review

AMG Clean Energy Materials

AMG Clean Energy Materials’ revenue increased by $48.4 million, or 72%, to $115.4 million, driven mainly by higher prices in vanadium, tantalum and lithium concentrates offset by lower volumes in each product.

Gross profit before non-recurring items for the quarter increased by $20.5 million compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increased price environment.

SG&A expenses in the fourth quarter of 2021 were $11.7 million, $4.6 million higher than the fourth quarter of 2020 due to higher strategic project costs and increased shared-based and variable compensation expense.

The fourth quarter 2021 EBITDA increased by $18.7 million, to $25.8 million from $7.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, due to the improved gross profit as noted above.

AMG Critical Minerals

AMG Critical Minerals’ revenue increased by $23.9 million, or 43%, to $79.4 million, driven by very strong sales volumes of antimony and improved sales prices across all three businesses.

Gross profit before non-recurring items decreased by 2% in the fourth quarter due to the continuing rise in energy and shipping costs, which were only partially passed on to customers.

SG&A expenses in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased by $3.4 million, to $8.7 million, primarily due to higher share-based and variable compensation expense in the current quarter.

The fourth quarter 2021 EBITDA was $2.4 million lower than the same period in the prior year, due to higher SG&A costs as well as lower profitability driven by higher energy and shipping costs.

AMG Critical Materials Technologies

AMG Critical Materials Technologies' fourth quarter 2021 revenue increased by $4.5 million, or 3% compared to the same period in 2020. This increase was due to higher sales volumes of titanium alloys and higher prices of titanium alloys and chrome metal driven by stronger demand from our aerospace customers. Therefore, fourth quarter 2021 gross profit before non-recurring items increased by $7.1 million, or 46%, to $22.4 million.

SG&A expenses increased by $5.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, due to higher share-based and variable compensation expense in the current quarter.

AMG Critical Materials Technologies’ EBITDA increased to $11.7 million during the quarter, compared to $6.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This was primarily due to higher profitability in chrome metal and titanium alloys.

The Company signed $84.9 million in new orders during the fourth quarter of 2021, driven by strong orders of remelting, induction, and heat treatment furnaces in China, representing a 1.61x book to bill ratio. Order backlog was $188.2 million as of December 31, 2021, 21% higher than $155.1 million as of September 30, 2021, due largely to strong orders of remelting, heat treatment, and induction furnaces. On a full year basis, the Company signed $227.5 million in new orders, representing a balanced 1.00x book to bill ratio.

Financial Review

Tax

AMG recorded an income tax expense of $8.7 million in 2021, compared to $11.2 in 2020. This variance was mainly driven by improved financial performance offset by movements in the Brazilian real versus the US dollar. The effects of the Brazilian real caused a $3.5 million non-cash deferred tax benefit in 2021. Movements in the Brazilian real exchange rate impact the valuation of the Company’s net deferred tax positions related to our operations in Brazil.

AMG paid taxes of $9.9 million in 2021, comprised of $12.9M of cash tax payments net of $3.0 million of refunds. In 2020 AMG paid $8.6 million in taxes, comprised of $18.5 million cash payments net of $9.9 million of refunds. The higher cash payments in 2020 were largely a result of payments of taxes owed from profitable prior years, and the refunds in both years resulted from overpayment in prior years.

Exceptional Items

AMG’s fourth quarter and full year 2021 gross profit includes exceptional items, which are not included in the calculation of EBITDA.

A summary of exceptional items included in gross profit in 2021 and 2020 are below:

Exceptional items included in gross profit

Liquidity

AMG had a net debt position of $284.5 million as of December 31, 2021.

AMG continued to maintain a strong balance sheet and adequate sources of liquidity during the fourth quarter. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $338 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and $170 million available on its revolving credit facility. As such, AMG had $508 million of total liquidity as of December 31, 2021.

In January 2022, AMG entered into €140 million of long-term bilateral unsecured performance-based guarantee facility agreements. These guarantee arrangements support expected customer advanced payments and replace the existing guarantee arrangements.

In November, AMG entered into a new $350 million 7-year senior secured term loan B facility and a $200 million 5-year senior secured revolving credit facility, which together replaced AMG’s prior credit facility and extended the term loan maturity from 2025 to 2028 and revolver maturity from 2023 to 2026. Further strengthening AMG’s commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance, annual CO₂ intensity reduction targets were built into the Revolving Credit Facility, making it a Sustainability Linked Loan.

Net Finance Costs

AMG’s fourth quarter 2021 net finance costs were $12.6 million compared to $4.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This increase was mainly driven by the write-off of prior unamortized debt issuance fees during the quarter associated with the refinancing noted above and foreign exchange losses during the quarter.

AMG capitalized $3.8 million of interest costs in the fourth quarter of 2021, in line with $3.8 million in the same period in 2020, driven by interest associated with the Company’s tax-exempt municipal bond supporting the vanadium expansion in Ohio.

SG&A

AMG’s fourth quarter 2021 SG&A expenses were $39.5 million compared to $26.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, with the variance driven largely by increased strategic project costs and higher shared-based and variable compensation expense.

Full year 2021 SG&A expenses were $139.6 million, an increase of $21.8 million, or 19%, versus the prior year. SG&A expenses for 2021 included $89.9 million in personnel costs compared to $68.0 million in 2020. The 2021 personnel costs were increased due to higher share-based and variable compensation expense associated with our profitability during the year, and the 2020 personnel cost was reduced by cost reduction efforts in response to the onset of the pandemic.

Net Income to Shareholders

Net income to shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $5.7 million compared to a loss of $2.8 million in 2020. Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 were impacted (net of tax) by three large non-cash charges: first, a $3.7 million write-off of unamortized financing expenses from the 2018 financing; second, a $4.7 million charge related to 2019 share-based compensation awards which were not expected to vest at the end of the prior year, however, due to higher than anticipated profitability in the current year the awards are now expected to vest; third, a $2.0 million foreign exchange charge due primarily to intercompany debt balances. Excluding these non-cash charges, AMG would have net income to shareholders of $16.1 million, or $0.50 diluted earnings per share, in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Final Dividend Proposed

AMG intends to declare a dividend of €0.40 per ordinary share over the financial year 2021. The interim dividend of €0.10, paid on August 13, 2021, will be deducted from the amount to be distributed to shareholders. The proposed final dividend per ordinary share therefore amounts to €0.30.

A proposal to resolve upon the final dividend distribution will be included on the agenda for the Annual General Meeting to be held on May 5^th, 2022.

Outlook

Previously, AMG increased its EBITDA guidance for full year 2022 to $225 million or higher based on significantly improved market conditions in lithium and we reaffirm this guidance.

AMG anticipates the Company will increase overall staffing from about 3,300 at the end of 2021 by 5 to 10% due to the hiring associated with the ramp-up of the vanadium expansion in Ohio and the lithium expansion in Germany.

Capital expenditures for 2022 are expected to be between $175 million and $200 million mainly driven by the finalization of construction for the vanadium expansion in Ohio and expenditures related to the construction of the lithium hydroxide plant in Germany.

With regard to financing in 2022, AMG has recently finalized its debt refinancing and although we look to consistently optimize our financial structure, our current liquidity can fully fund all of the approved capital expansion projects mentioned above.

In addition, AMG is pleased to announce a two-pronged commitment to reduce our CO₂ emissions and increase our enabled CO₂ savings through 2030:

1. AMG commits to reduce its direct CO₂ emissions by 20% by 2030 from a baseline of 2019 (i.e., pre COVID) adjusted for the startup of our Zanesville facility. This is a total reduction of 125,000 tons of CO₂.
2. AMG commits to increase its enabled CO₂ reduction by 10% per annum from 2021 levels of 79.0 million through 2030.

Net income (loss) to EBITDA reconciliation        

(1) See note (1) to the Key Figures table.

(2) Amount includes variable compensation expense which settled in shares in 2021.

(3) The Company is in the ramp-up phase for several strategic expansion projects, including AMG Vanadium’s expansion project, the joint venture with Shell, Hybrid Lithium Vanadium Redox Flow Battery System, and the lithium expansion in Germany, which incurred project expenses during the quarter but are not yet operational. AMG is adjusting EBITDA for these exceptional charges.

This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

This press release contains regulated information as defined in the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht).

About AMG

AMG is a global critical materials company at the forefront of CO₂ reduction trends. AMG produces highly engineered specialty metals and mineral products and provides related vacuum furnace systems and services to the transportation, infrastructure, energy, and specialty metals & chemicals end markets.

AMG Clean Energy Materials segment combines AMG’s recycling and mining operations, producing materials for infrastructure and energy storage solutions while reducing the CO₂ footprint of both suppliers and customers. AMG Clean Energy Materials segment spans the vanadium, lithium, and tantalum value chains. AMG Critical Materials Technologies segment combines AMG’s leading vacuum furnace technology line with high-purity materials serving global leaders in the aerospace sector. AMG Critical Minerals segment consists of AMG’s mineral processing operations in antimony, graphite, and silicon metal.

With approximately 3,300 employees, AMG operates globally with production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, China, Mexico, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and Mozambique, and has sales and customer service offices in Russia and Japan (www.amg-nv.com).

For further information, please contact:
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V.        +1 610 975 4979
Michele Fischer
mfischer@amg-nv.com

Disclaimer

Certain statements in this press release are not historical facts and are "forward looking.” Forward looking statements include statements concerning AMG’s plans, expectations, projections, objectives, targets, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans and intentions relating to acquisitions, AMG’s competitive strengths and weaknesses, plans or goals relating to forecasted production, reserves, financial position and future operations and development, AMG’s business strategy and the trends AMG anticipates in the industries and the political and legal environment in which it operates and other information that is not historical information. When used in this press release, the words "expects,” "believes,” "anticipates,” "plans,” "may,” "will,” "should,” and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. AMG expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in AMG's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based.

Attachment

• Fourth Quarter & Full Year Earnings 2021 PR