Q2 2024 Ascent Industries Co Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Ascent Industries Co (ACNT) reported improved financial results for the second quarter, indicating stabilization efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
- The company achieved the best quarter of consolidated adjusted EBITDA since Q4 2022 without tapping into its revolving credit facility.
- Significant cost reductions were achieved, including a 28% reduction in material costs and a 30% reduction in labor and overhead compared to the same quarter prior year.
- Gross profit from continuing operations increased to $5.9 million from negative $0.8 million in Q2 2023, with gross margin improving to 11.7% from negative 1.5%.
- The company has ample liquidity with no outstanding debt under its revolving credit facility, providing access to $62.7 million for future growth opportunities.
- The broader demand environment remained soft, impacting overall sales performance.
- Material volume gains were largely attributed to monetizing slow-moving inventory rather than organic growth.
- Unfavorable pricing, driven by fulfilling a low-priced order backlog and depressed nickel pricing, offset strong quarter-on-quarter volume growth in the Tubular segment.
- Despite improvements, the company still faces ongoing market headwinds and unfavorable mix impacts.
- The Specialty Chemicals segment also experienced soft market demand, with material year-over-year volume gains primarily due to efforts to monetize slow-moving inventory.
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss Ascent's financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. Joining us today are Ascent's Executive Chairman of the Board, Ben Rosenzweig; CEO, Bryan Kitchen; CFO, Ryan Kavalauskas and the company's outside Investor Relations Adviser, Cody Cree.
Following their remarks, we'll open the call for your questions. Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Cody Cree, as he reads the company's safe harbor statements with the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements.
Cody, please go ahead.
Thanks, Cherie. Before we continue, I'd like to remind all participants that the discussion today may contain certain forward-looking statements pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on information currently available to us and are subject to
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