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U.S. Silica (SLCA) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates

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U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.  logged earnings of 17 cents per share in first-quarter 2024, down from 57 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted earnings in the reported quarter were 20 cents per share, down from 64 cents in the year-ago quarter. It missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 21 cents.

U.S. Silica recorded revenues of $325.9 million, down around 26% year over year. The metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $338.5 million.

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Quote

 

Segmental Highlights

Revenues in the Oil & Gas division amounted to $183.2 million in the reported quarter, down 39% year over year. It was below our estimate of $226.5 million. Sales volume fell 22% year over year to 3.042 million tons. Oil & Gas contribution margin plunged 46% year over year to $59.5 million. The figure lagged our estimate of $63.8 million.

Revenues in the Industrial & Specialty Products division were $142.8 million in the quarter, flat year over year. It missed our estimate of $143.5 million. Sales volume rose 4% year over year to 1.050 million tons. The segment’s contribution margin was $45.9 million in the quarter, up 7% year over year. It missed our estimate of $47.1 million.

Financials

At the end of the quarter, the company’s cash and cash equivalents were $234.5 million, up around 68% year over year. Long-term debt dropped nearly 11.3% year over year to $796.8 million.

The company generated $40.9 million in cash flow from operations during the quarter.

Outlook

U.S. Silica maintains its key emphasis on generating operational cash flow and declining leverage on the balance sheet.

The company has agreed to be acquired by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.85 billion. Under this definitive agreement, U.S. Silica stockholders will receive $15.50 per share in cash for each share of common stock, representing an 18.7% premium over SLCA’s Apr 25, 2024, closing price and a 33% premium over its 90-day volume-weighted average price for the period ended Apr 25. Once completed, U.S. Silica will become a private company under Apollo's ownership, continuing to operate with its current management team and under its existing name and brand.

Price Performance

U.S. Silica’s shares are up 22% in the past year compared with a 9.7% rise of the industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

U.S. Silica currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Gold Fields Limited (GFI - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) and Ecolab Inc. (ECL - Free Report) , eachcarrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus estimate for GFI’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at 22 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI’s first-quarter earnings has been stable in the past 60 days. The company’s shares have increased 13.7% in the past year.

CRS is slated to report fiscal third-quarter results on May 1. The consensus estimate for CRS’ fiscal third-quarter earnings is pegged at 94 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year surge of 147.4%. CRS beat on earnings in three of the last four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 12.2%. The company’s shares have risen 62.8% in the past year.

Ecolab is slated to report first-quarter results on Apr 30. The consensus estimate for ECL’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.33 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 51.1%. ECL beat on earnings in each of the last four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 1.7%. The company’s shares have rallied 31% in the past year.


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