Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) today reported results for its first quarter of fiscal 2022 ended November 30, 2021.

First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Highlights

• Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.55, more than triple earnings per share of $0.50 in the first quarter of fiscal 2021

• Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.58, compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.57 in the first quarter of fiscal 2021

• Net income of $47 million, more than triple net income of $15 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2021

• Adjusted EBITDA of $78 million in the quarter, compared to $40 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2021
  • Highest first quarter net income and adjusted EBITDA, notwithstanding supply chain disruptions which contributed to the delay of several planned November shipments of ferrous and nonferrous recycled metals.

The Company’s first quarter performance benefited from the strong global demand for recycled metals and a robust West Coast market for finished steel products. The results reflected average selling prices at or near multi-year highs for ferrous, nonferrous, and finished steel products, increased contributions from our steel mill as operations continued to ramp-up after re-starting in August 2021 following the mill fire outage, benefits from higher year-over-year ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes, and initial contributions from Columbus Recycling assets after the completion of the acquisition on October 1, 2021.

Tamara Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, “Our results this quarter are our Company’s best first quarter earnings on record. Our strategic initiatives related to volume growth and productivity contributed to our expanded profitability, with higher ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes benefiting from our recent acquisition of the Columbus Recycling assets. We also benefited from positive market conditions supported by cyclical and structural trends, including the global focus on decarbonization and the increased use of recycled ferrous metals in steelmaking.”

Ms. Lundgren continued, “Earlier this month, we published our Fiscal 2021 Sustainability Report: Essential Recycling, Sustainable Products, Successful Communities. We made significant progress against our People, Planet, and Profit goals, including achieving 100% net carbon-free electricity use at our facilities ahead of our fiscal 2022 target. By supplying our global customers with high quality, low-carbon recycled metals that are critical to the production of sustainable products and infrastructure, we are continuing to deliver on our commitment to creating a more sustainable future.”

First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Review and Analysis

Net income per ferrous ton was $41 and adjusted EBITDA per ferrous ton was $68 in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, a strong year-over-year increase from $14 and $38, respectively. Year-over-year performance benefited from higher average selling prices and higher sales volumes for recycled ferrous and nonferrous metals. These benefits were partially offset by the effect of supply chain disruptions, which contributed to delays in certain planned November shipments of ferrous bulk cargos and containers of nonferrous products, as well as a decline in the price of platinum group metals, and higher SG&A expense. The effect of average inventory accounting was insignificant in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to a benefit of $2 per ferrous ton in the prior year quarter.

Ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 were up year-over-year by 9% and 11%, respectively, despite the supply chain disruptions, and included two months of volumes from Columbus Recycling. Average ferrous and nonferrous net selling prices were up 66% and 64% year-over-year, respectively. Finished steel sales volumes were down 26% year-over-year, reflecting the continued ramp-up of operations after re-starting in August 2021 following the mill fire outage. Rolling mill utilization averaged 78% in the quarter, with November reaching 91%. Average net selling prices for finished steel products were up 58% year-over-year, the highest prices on record.

The first quarter of fiscal 2022 had negative operating cash flow of $34 million, as cash flows associated with profitability were more than offset by increased working capital due primarily to inventory rebuild at the steel mill, the cash payment in November of incentive compensation accrued in fiscal 2021, and the impact of shipment delays on the timing of collecting receivables.

Capital expenditures were $30 million in the quarter, including investments in advanced metal recovery technologies, maintaining the business and environmental projects, net of $10 million in insurance payments related to the repair and replacement of property damaged by the mill fire. Total debt at the end of the quarter was $260 million, and debt, net of cash, was $241 million. The increase in debt was primarily driven by the acquisition of the assets of Columbus Recycling and increased working capital (for a reconciliation of adjusted results and debt, net of cash, to U.S. GAAP, see the table provided in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section). The Company’s effective tax rate for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was an expense of 19% reflecting discrete tax benefits associated with the vesting of previously awarded share-based incentive compensation.

During the first quarter, the Company returned capital to shareholders through its 111^th consecutive quarterly dividend.

Shredder Fire at Metals Recycling Facility in the U.S. Northeast

On December 8, 2021 the Company experienced a fire at its metals recycling facility in Everett, Massachusetts. There were no injuries to personnel, and property loss or damage from the incident was limited to the facility’s shredder building and equipment. Given that the incident occurred after the end of the Company’s fiscal first quarter, this matter did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations for the quarter.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.1875 per common share, payable February 14, 2022 to shareholders of record on January 31, 2022. Schnitzer has paid a dividend every quarter since going public in November 1993.

Analysts’ Conference Call: First Quarter of Fiscal 2022

A conference call and slide presentation to discuss results will be held today, January 6, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern and will be hosted by Tamara L. Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Richard Peach, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. The call and the slide presentation will be webcast and accessible on the Company’s website under Company > Investors > Event Calendar at www.schnitzersteel.com/company/investors/event-calendar.

Summary financial data is provided in the following pages. The slide presentation and related materials will be available prior to the call on the above website.

About Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in North America with operating facilities located in 25 states, Puerto Rico and Western Canada. Schnitzer has seven deep water export facilities located on both the East and West Coasts and in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The Company’s integrated operating platform also includes 50 stores which sell serviceable used auto parts from salvaged vehicles and receive over 4.3 million annual retail visits. The Company’s steel manufacturing operations produce finished steel products, including rebar, wire rod and other specialty products. The Company began operations in 1906 in Portland, Oregon.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains performance based on adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to SSI shareholders, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per ferrous ton which are non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided a reconciliation of these measures for each period discussed to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure. Management believes that providing these non-GAAP financial measures adds a meaningful presentation of our results from business operations excluding adjustments for business development costs not related to ongoing operations including pre-acquisition expenses, legacy environmental matters (net of recoveries), restructuring charges and other exit-related activities, and the income tax (benefit) expense allocated to these adjustments, items which are not related to underlying business operational performance, and improves the period-to-period comparability of our results from business operations. We believe that presenting debt, net of cash is useful to investors as a measure of our leverage, as cash and cash equivalents can be used, among other things, to repay indebtedness. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements and information included in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except as noted herein or as the context may otherwise require, all references in this press release to “we,” “our,” “us,” “the Company” and “SSI” refer to Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding future events or our expectations, intentions, beliefs and strategies regarding the future, which may include statements regarding the impact of pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic; the impact of equipment upgrades, equipment failures and facility damage on production, including timing of repairs and resumption of operations; the realization of insurance recoveries; the Company’s outlook, growth initiatives or expected results or objectives, including pricing, margins, sales volumes and profitability; completion of acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; the impacts of supply chain disruptions and inflation; liquidity positions; our ability to generate cash from continuing operations; trends, cyclicality and changes in the markets we sell into; strategic direction or goals; targets; changes to manufacturing and production processes; the realization of deferred tax assets; planned capital expenditures; the cost of and the status of any agreements or actions related to our compliance with environmental and other laws; expected tax rates, deductions and credits; the impact of sanctions and tariffs, quotas and other trade actions and import restrictions; the potential impact of adopting new accounting pronouncements; the impact of labor shortages or increased labor costs; obligations under our retirement plans; benefits, savings or additional costs from business realignment, cost containment and productivity improvement programs; and the adequacy of accruals.

Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as “outlook,” “target,” “aim,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “assumes,” “estimates,” “evaluates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “opinions,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “plans,” “future,” “forward,” “potential,” “probable,” and similar expressions. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

We may make other forward-looking statements from time to time, including in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, presentations and on public conference calls. All forward-looking statements we make are based on information available to us at the time the statements are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Our business is subject to the effects of changes in domestic and global economic conditions and a number of other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of Part I of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Examples of these risks include: the impact of pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of equipment upgrades, equipment failures and facility damage on production; potential environmental cleanup costs related to the Portland Harbor Superfund site or other locations; the cyclicality and impact of general economic conditions; changing conditions in global markets including the impact of sanctions and tariffs, quotas and other trade actions and import restrictions; volatile supply and demand conditions affecting prices and volumes in the markets for raw materials and other inputs we purchase; significant decreases in recycled metal prices; imbalances in supply and demand conditions in the global steel industry; difficulties associated with acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; supply chain disruptions; reliance on third party shipping companies, including with respect to freight rates and the availability of transportation; inability to obtain or renew business licenses and permits; the impact of goodwill impairment charges; the impact of long-lived asset and equity investment impairment charges; failure to realize or delays in realizing expected benefits from investments in processing and manufacturing technology improvements; inability to achieve or sustain the benefits from productivity, cost savings and restructuring initiatives; inability to renew facility leases; customer fulfillment of their contractual obligations; increases in the relative value of the U.S. dollar; the impact of inflation and foreign currency fluctuations; potential limitations on our ability to access capital resources and existing credit facilities; restrictions on our business and financial covenants under the agreement governing our bank credit facilities; the impact of consolidation in the steel industry; product liability claims; the impact of legal proceedings and legal compliance; the adverse impact of climate change; the impact of not realizing deferred tax assets; the impact of tax increases and changes in tax rules; the impact of one or more cybersecurity incidents; environmental compliance costs and potential environmental liabilities; compliance with climate change and greenhouse gas emission laws and regulations; the impact of labor shortages or increased labor costs; reliance on employees subject to collective bargaining agreements; and the impact of the underfunded status of multiemployer plans in which we participate.