LSB Industries Inc. reported a 64 percent increase in fourth-quarter Ag segment sales volumes, to 233,942 st from the year-ago 142,488 st. UAN volumes were up 105 percent. However, prices were off from year-ago levels.
“We delivered fourth-quarter 2020 results largely in-line with our expectations headed into the period,” said Mark Behrman, LSB President and CEO. “Our substantial year-over-year increase in production volume more than offset the continued pricing headwinds on fertilizer sales and the pandemic-related impact on industrial and mining demand that we experienced during the quarter. Despite the challenges we faced across our end markets, we still generated a 44 percent year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA for the period.
“The fourth quarter capped off our best year of operating performance across our three facilities in our company’s history,” he added. “We delivered record production volumes for ammonia (827,000 st) and UAN (501,000 st) for full year 2020, reflecting a return on the investments we’ve made in plant reliability and product upgrading capabilities over the last several years as well as our focus on continuous improvement in our manufacturing operations.
“We also benefitted from the absence of any turnaround activity in 2020 as compared to 2019. Overall, we were pleased with the performance of our plants in 2020 and believe that we will generate further improvement in operating rates and production volumes in 2021.
“Favorable dynamics for U.S. agriculture have translated into higher prices for a variety of crops, including corn, wheat and cotton, which has prompted an increase in demand and selling prices for fertilizers,” Behrman continued. “In fact, since mid-January we have seen a significant increase in selling prices for all the nitrogen fertilizers we sell. We expect that the benefit of these higher selling prices will have some impact on our first quarter financial results and be fully reflected in our second quarter.
“Regarding our industrial business, we have seen a steady rebound in demand since the lows experienced in the early part of the pandemic. However, many sectors are not yet operating at pre-pandemic levels, and while we don’t expect that to significantly impact our industrial sales volumes due to our strong sales efforts, it is still putting selling price pressure on certain of our products,” he said. “We are hopeful that as COVID-19 vaccines are increasingly distributed, overall demand in the marketplace will get back to pre-pandemic levels putting less pressure on selling prices on certain products.
“Regarding our outlook for 2021, we expect to deliver year-over-year improvement in production and sales volumes which we believe will translate into improved adjusted EBITDA and cash flow for the year. We believe that with the strengthening of fertilizer market dynamics, our anticipated improvement in our financial performance and the current favorable credit market environment, we will have an opportunity to refinance our existing debt at more favorable terms, which would provide us with greater financial flexibility to pursue growth initiatives,” Behrman concluded.
LSB posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $21.7 million on net sales of $88.9 million, an improvement over the year-ago loss of $27.7 million and $73.9 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was $10.4 million, up from the year-ago $7.2 million.
The company reported a full-year net loss of $61.9 million on sales of $351.3 million versus the year-ago loss of $63.4 million and $365.1 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was $65.5 million, down from the year-ago $69.3 million.
| Sector Net Sales $/M | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| Agricultural | 41.6 | 32.8 | 27 |
| Industrial | 35.9 | 34.1 | 5 |
| Mining | 11.4 | 7.0 | 64 |
| Total | 88.9 | 73.9 | 20 |
| Ag Product Sold (000 st) | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| UAN | 131.7 | 64.3 | 105 |
| HDAN | 71.0 | 58.6 | 21 |
| Ammonia | 28.3 | 17.1 | 66 |
| Other | 3.0 | 2.5 | 19 |
| Total | 233.9 | 142.5 | 64 |
| Avg Selling Price $/st | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| UAN | 132 | 161 | (18) |
| HDAN | 159 | 201 | (21) |
| Ammonia | 210 | 253 | (17) |
| Industrial Sold (000 st) | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| Ammonia | 68.5 | 64.9 | 6 |
| Nitric Acid* | 29.3 | 29.6 | (1) |
| Other | 14.4 | 9.8 | 46 |
| Total | 112.1 | 104.3 | 7 |
| Mining Sold (000 st) | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| LDAN/HDAN/AN Sol. | 45 | 29 | 55 |
| Other Factors | 4Q-20 | 4Q-19 | Percentage Change |
| Avg Nat Gas Cost mmBtu | 2.46 | 2.47 | 0 |
| Tampa NH3 $/mt | 239 | 255 | (6) |
2021 Outlook Versus 2020
| Sales Volumes st | 2020 Outlook | 2019 Actual | |
| Agriculture | |||
| UAN | 480,000-500,000 | 499,000 | |
| HDAN | 280,000-300,000 | 293,000 | |
| Ammonia | 70,000-90,000 | 97,000 |
| Industrial, Mining, Other | 2020 Outlook | 2019 Actual | |
| Ammonia | 240,000-260,000 | 269,000 | |
| AN, Nitric, and Other . | 400,000-420,000 | 303,000 | |
| Sulfuric Acid | 145,000-165,000 | 146,000 |