LSB Industries, Inc. Reports Results for the 2013 Second Quarter

LSB Industries, Inc. Reports Results for the 2013 Second Quarter

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LSB Industries, Inc. (NYS: LXU) announced today results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013.

Second Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights Compared to Second Quarter 2012:

• Sales were $202.2 million compared to $209.3 million;

• Operating income was $12.2 million compared to $42.3 million;

• Net income and net income applicable to common shareholders were $7.4 million compared to $26.0 million; and

• Diluted earnings per common share were $0.31 compared to $1.11.

Discussion of Second Quarter of 2013:

The $7.1 million decrease in consolidated sales was primarily the result of a $16.8 million decline in our Chemical Business' sales partially offset by a $9.8 million increase in our Climate Control Business' sales.

Our consolidated operating income was $12.2 million for the second quarter of 2013 compared to $42.3 million for the same period in 2012. The $30.1 million decrease in consolidated operating income primarily relates to downtime of ammonia plants and related downstream production units at our Chemical Business' Pryor and Cherokee Facilities, which also adversely affected sales.

• The Chemical Business operating income decreased $32.8 million primarily due to the decline in gross profit resulting from lower sales volume, unabsorbed fixed overhead costs and costs associated with purchased ammonia and other products to meet some of our customers' needs, all of which were caused by the downtime at our facilities. Partially offsetting the negative impacts of the downtime was a business interruption insurance recovery of approximately $3 million recognized in the second quarter of 2013. During the second quarter of 2012, downtime at our Pryor and El Dorado Facilities resulted in an approximately $8 million cumulative impact to our Chemical Business' operating income.

• The Climate Control Business operating income increased $2.1 million primarily due to increased sales volume and the associated absorption of fixed costs.

First Six Months 2013 Financial Highlights Compared to First Six Months 2012:

• Sales were $352.9 million compared to $399.5 million;

• Operating income was $12.0 million compared to $65.4 million;

• Net income was $7.4 million compared to $40.3 million;

• Net income applicable to common shareholders was $7.1 million compared to $40.0 million; and

• Diluted earnings per common share were $0.31 compared to $1.72.

The $46.6 million decrease in consolidated sales was the net result of a $63.5 million decline in the Chemical Business' sales and a $17.3 million increase in the Climate Control Business' sales.

The decrease of $53.4 million in consolidated operating income was primarily the result of a decrease in Chemical Business operating income of approximately $56.9 million, partially offset by a $2.7 million increase in Climate Control Business operating income.

As previously reported, during 2012, our Chemical Business encountered a number of significant issues including: an explosion in one of our nitric acid plants at the El Dorado Facility in May, a pipe rupture at the Cherokee Facility in November that damaged the ammonia plant, mechanical issues at the Pryor Facility, and a planned major process upgrade at the Pryor Facility, all resulting in lost production and a significant adverse effect on our sales, operating income and cash flow for 2012 and for the first half of 2013.

For the first half of 2013, we estimate the cumulative negative effect on our operating income from these incidents and issues to be in the range of approximately $59 million to $70 million, including lost absorption and gross profit margins, based on current market conditions and net of business interruption insurance recoveries recognized.

Second Quarter Chemical Business Overview:

Our Chemical Business' sales for the second quarter of 2013 were $121.3 million, a decrease of $16.8 million compared to the same period in 2012, which includes a $22.7 million decrease in agricultural products sales partially offset by a $4.0 million increase in industrial and other products sales. Agricultural products sales decreased primarily due to downtime at our Cherokee and Pryor Facilities and lower sales prices for agricultural grade AN.

During the second quarter of 2013, the primary ammonia plant at the Pryor Facility was down approximately 7 weeks. In addition, the ammonia plant at the Cherokee Facility was down approximately 5 weeks. Therefore these plants had lower production of ammonia, which initiates the production for all nitrogen products at these facilities, including UAN. However, we did purchase some ammonia to meet some of our customers' needs, but such purchases negatively impacted our gross profit margins, which were partially offset by business interruption insurance recoveries recognized.

Second Quarter Climate Control Business Overview:

Net sales for the Climate Control Business were $77.4 million, or approximately $9.8 million greater than the same period in 2012, which includes a $6.1 million increase in geothermal and water source heat pump sales, and a $3.4 million increase in hydronic fan coil sales. From a market perspective, commercial/institutional sales increased $9.0 million compared to the second quarter of 2012, while residential product sales were up $0.8 million. The improvement in the commercial/institutional sector of our business is primarily attributable to higher customer order intake in the current and preceding periods for our commercial/institutional products in most of our product lines, as a result of improved general construction levels.

CEO's Remarks:

Jack Golsen, LSB's Board Chairman and CEO stated, "We have completed necessary repairs and upgrade to our Cherokee and Pryor Facilities that restricted production rates and depressed our financial results in the first half of 2013. These facilities are now operating. We expect our Chemical Business results to improve significantly in the second half of the year. In our Climate Control Business, given the market leading positions of our products, we are well positioned to capitalize on the continued strengthening in demand from both the commercial/institutional and residential sectors, which should lead to further increases in product sales, orders and backlog."

Mr. Golsen continued, "Looking to the longer-term, this week we closed on our $425 million offering of 7.75% senior secured notes. These funds add to our already strong liquidity, giving us the capacity to pursue expansion and upgrade initiatives at our El Dorado Chemical Facility. Specifically, we plan to invest $250 million to $300 million to construct an ammonia plant at El Dorado. We also plan to install a new nitric acid plant and concentrator at El Dorado at a combined cost of approximately $120 million. Both of these projects are scheduled for completion in 2015 and, once in operation, their benefits will include: reduced feedstock costs resulting from the ability to make, rather than buy ammonia, a primary input to our chemical production processes, using relatively low cost natural gas; increased production capacity enabling us to capitalize on rising market demand; and, greater product-mix flexibility which can lead to expanded customer relationships. Ultimately, we expect these investments to yield significant returns."

Mr. Golsen concluded, "In the near-term, with our chemical facilities back in operation, and a recovery underway in our Climate Control end markets, we are looking forward to reporting improving results as we progress through the balance of 2013 and into 2014."

Conference Call

LSB's management will host a conference call covering the second quarter results on August 9, 2013 at 11:00 am EDT/ 10:00 am CDT to discuss these results and recent corporate developments. Participating in the call will be Chairman and CEO, Jack E. Golsen; President and COO, Barry H. Golsen; and Executive Vice President and CFO, Tony M. Shelby. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing (201) 493-6739. Please call in ten minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin and ask for the LSB conference call. To coincide with the conference call, LSB will post a slide presentation at www.lsbindustries.com on the webcast section of Investor Info tab.

To listen to a webcast of the call, please go to the Company's website at www.lsbindustries.com at least 15 minutes before the conference call to download and install any necessary audio software. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call webcast will be archived on the Company's website. We suggest listeners use Microsoft Explorer as their web browser.

LSB Industries, Inc.

LSB is a manufacturing and marketing company. LSB's principal business activities consist of the manufacture and sale of commercial and residential climate control products, such as geothermal and water source heat pumps, hydronic fan coils, modular chillers and large custom air handlers; and the manufacture and sale of chemical products for the agricultural, mining and industrial markets.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally are identifiable by use of the words "believe," "expects," "intends," "plans to," "estimates," "projects" or similar expressions, and such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, that we plan to build a new nitric acid plant, concentrator and an ammonia plant, at a cost of $120 million for the nitric acid plant and concentrator and between $250 million to $300 million for the ammonia plant; that the benefits from the plant constructions will include: reduced feedstock costs resulting from the ability to make rather than buy ammonia, a primary input to our chemical production processes, using relatively low cost natural gas; increased production capacity enabling us to capitalize on rising market demand; and greater product-mix flexibility which can lead to expanded customer relationships; that we expect these investments to yield significant returns; and that the Climate Control Business is well positioned to capitalize on strengthening in demand from both commercial/institutional and residential sectors; our Chemical Business results will improve significantly in the second half of the year. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, general economic conditions, effect of the recession on the commercial and residential construction industry, acceptance by the market of our geothermal heat pump products, acceptance of our technology, changes to federal legislation or adverse regulations, available working capital, ability to install necessary equipment and renovations at the Pryor and El Dorado facilities in a timely manner; weather conditions; inability to obtain in a timely manner any necessary regulatory approvals; ability to finance our investments, and other factors set forth under "A Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements", a discussion of a variety of factors which could cause the future outcome to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this letter, and the Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 2012, and the Form 10Qs for the quarters ended March 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013.

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