VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – April 29, 2015) – For the first quarter of 2015, Methanex (TSX:MX)(NASDAQ:MEOH) reported Adjusted EBITDA1 of $97 million and Adjusted net income1 of $21 million ($0.23 per share on a diluted basis1). This compares with Adjusted EBITDA1 of $150 million and Adjusted net income1 of $80 million ($0.85 per share on a diluted basis1) for the fourth quarter of 2014.
John Floren, President and CEO of Methanex commented, “Our first quarter earnings reflect lower average realized methanol pricing compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Early in the quarter, a continuing decline in energy prices as well as seasonally lower demand into chemical applications resulted in further downward pressure on methanol prices. We have subsequently seen methanol prices strengthen primarily as a result of tightening industry supply and higher energy and related product prices. Higher energy prices have raised the affordability for methanol into energy applications and boosted methanol demand, particularly for olefins production.”
Mr. Floren continued, “The decline in earnings versus Q4 was also attributable to lower than expected produced product sales volume resulting from unplanned outages at our New Zealand and Egypt sites. Our Egypt facility was not in production for most of the quarter and remains offline due to gas restrictions. Certain one-time items also impacted earnings this quarter, including a make-whole payment related to the early retirement of a bond due in August 2015 and foreign exchange losses, which we expect will be offset by lower finance and operating costs in future quarters.”
Mr. Floren added, “After the successful start-up at the end of January, our Geismar 1 plant has operated at full rates. The plant produced 180,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015 and we expect to see the full impact of this additional production in our second quarter results. We continue to make excellent progress on the construction of our one million tonne Geismar 2 plant, and remain on target for methanol production in late Q1 2016.”
“During the quarter, we returned over $70 million in cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. We also recalled and repaid early our $150 million bond which was due in August, 2015. We announced today that our Board of Directors has approved a new 5% normal course issuer bid share repurchase program, along with a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend. With cash on hand, an undrawn credit facility, robust balance sheet, and strong future cash flow generation capability, we are well positioned to meet our financial commitments, invest to grow the Company and return excess cash to shareholders.”
A conference call is scheduled for April 30, 2015 at 12:00 noon ET (9:00 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) 340-8530, or toll free at (800) 769-8320. A playback version of the conference call will be available until May 21, 2015 at (905) 694-9451, or toll free at (800) 408-3053. The passcode for the playback version is 7387008. Presentation slides summarizing the Q1 2015 results and a simultaneous audio-only webcast of the conference call can be accessed from our website at www.methanex.com. The webcast will be available on the website for three weeks following the call.
Methanex is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is the world’s largest producer and 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” and on the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the trading symbol “MEOH”.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION WARNING
This first quarter 2015 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 2015 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for more information.
| 1 | Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per common share are non-GAAP measures which do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP. These measures represent the amounts that are attributable to Methanex Corporation shareholders and are calculated by excluding the mark-to-market impact of share-based compensation as a result of changes in our share price and the impact of certain items associated with specific identified events. Refer to the Additional Information – Supplemental Non-GAAP Measures section of the attached Interim Report for the three months ended March 31, 2015 for reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures. |
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For further information, contact:
Sandra Daycock
Director, Investor Relations
Methanex Corporation
604-661-2600
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