VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(Marketwire – April 28, 2010) – For the first quarter of 2010, Methanex (TSX:MX)(NASDAQ:MEOH)(SANTIAGO:Methanex) reported Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $81.5 million and net income of $29.3 million ($0.31 per share on a diluted basis). This compares with Adjusted EBITDA of $72.9 million and net income of $25.7 million ($0.28 per share on a diluted basis) for the fourth quarter of 2009.
Bruce Aitken, President and CEO of Methanex commented, “We achieved an average realized price which was about $20 per tonne higher than last quarter and this led to higher EBITDA in the first quarter. Our results would normally have been higher, however they were negatively impacted by lower produced product sales volumes relative to production and higher stock-based compensation.”
Mr. Aitken added, “Methanol demand continues to be healthy and our sales volumes were up 12% over last quarter. We also reported higher production in the first quarter due to a better operating rate at our Chile site as a result of the recent successful development of new gas supply in that country. We look forward to a further improvement to our production and cash flow generation in the second half of this year with the Egypt Project targeted to be producing methanol in the middle of this year.”
Mr. Aitken concluded, “With US$196 million of cash on hand, a strong balance sheet, no near term refinancing requirements, and an undrawn credit facility, we are well positioned to continue to invest to grow the Company.”
A conference call is scheduled for April 29, 2010 at 11:00 am ET (8:00 am PT) to review these first quarter results. To access the call, dial the Conferencing operator ten minutes prior to the start of the call at (416) 340-8018, or toll free at (866) 223-7781. A playback version of the conference call will be available for fourteen days at (416) 695-5800, or toll free at (800) 408-3053. The passcode for the playback version is 4661035. There will be a simultaneous audio-only webcast of the conference call, which can be accessed from our website at www.methanex.com. The webcast will be available on our website for three weeks following the call.
Methanex is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is the world’s largest supplier of methanol to major international markets. Methanex shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol “MX”, on the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the trading symbol “MEOH”, and on the foreign securities market of the Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile under the trading symbol “Methanex”. Methanex can be visited online at www.methanex.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION WARNING
This First Quarter 2010 press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to us and the chemical industry. Refer to Forward-Looking Information Warning in the attached First Quarter 2010 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for more information.
| (1) | Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and therefore is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Refer to Additional Information – Supplemental Non-GAAP Measures in the attached First Quarter 2010 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for a description of each supplemental non-GAAP measure and a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure. |
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For further information, contact:
Jason Chesko
Director, Investor Relations
Methanex Corporation
604-661-2600
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