U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2014 Results

FREDERICK, Md., July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) today announced net income of $28.7 million or $0.53 per basic and diluted share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014 compared with net income of $20.2 million or $0.38 per basic and diluted share for the second quarter of 2013. Excluding M&A and business development expenses of $1.7 million or $0.02 per basic share during the quarter, EPS was $0.55 per basic share and diluted share.

Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer commented, "I'm extremely pleased with the performance of our oil and gas and industrial businesses. The robust demand we continue to see in oil and gas drove higher pricing and margins for both of our operating units during the quarter. We're moving quickly to add more capacity through both Greenfield developments and M&A to assure adequate supply for our customers going forward."

Second Quarter 2014 Highlights

Total Company

• Revenue totaled $205.8 million compared with $129.8 million for the same period last year and up 14% sequentially over the first quarter of 2014.
• Overall sales volumes increased to 2.6 million tons, a 27% improvement over the second quarter of 2013 and up 13% sequentially over the first quarter of 2014.
• Contribution margin for the quarter was $74.7 million compared with $50.8 million in the same period of the prior year and up 36% sequentially over the first quarter of 2014.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $59.8 million versus $ 41.0 million for the same period last year and representing a 43% increase sequentially over the first quarter of 2014.

Oil and Gas

• Revenue for the quarter totaled $149.3 million compared with $77.7 million in the same period in 2013.
• Overall tons sold totaled 1.5 million tons compared with 988 thousand tons sold in the second quarter of 2013.
• 68% of tons sold were made in basin via transloads compared with 42% in the second quarter of 2013.
• Segment contribution margin was $57.1 million versus $35.5 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Industrial and Specialty Products

• Revenue for the quarter totaled $56.5 million compared with $52.2 million for the same period in 2013.
• Overall tons sold totaled 1.095 million tons compared with 1.060million tons sold in the same period last year.
• Segment contribution margin was $17.6 million compared with $15.4 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Capital Update

As of June 30, 2014, the Company had $181.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and short term investments and $46.7 million available under its credit facilities. Total long-term debt at June 30, 2014 totaled $366.2 million. Capital expenditures in the second quarter totaled $7.4 million and were associated largely with the Company's investment in a new frac sand mine and plant located near Utica, Illinois, a new transload facility under construction in Odessa, Texas and other maintenance capital projects.

Outlook and Guidance

The Company is increasing the guidance it provided in its press release dated April 29, 2014. For the full-year 2014, the Company now anticipates Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $215 million to $225 million, which includes a small contribution from our Cadre acquisition. The Company is also revising guidance for capital expenditures and its full-year effective tax rate. The Company now expects capital expenditures in the range of $95 million to $105 million and an effective tax rate of approximately 27 percent.

Conference Call

U.S. Silica will host a conference call for investors tomorrow, July 30, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. Hosting the call will be Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer and Don Merril, vice president and chief financial officer. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing [phone] or for international callers, [phone]. The conference passcode is 71727515. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing [phone]. The passcode for the replay is 71727515. The replay of the call will be available through August 29, 2014.

About U.S. Silica

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., a member of the Russell 2000 and S&P Small Cap 600 indexes, is one of the largest domestic producers of commercial silica, a specialized mineral that is a critical input into the oil and gas proppants end market. The company also processes ground and unground silica sand for a variety of industrial and specialty products end markets such as glass, fiberglass, foundry molds, municipal filtration and recreational uses. During its 100-plus year history, U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 250 products to customers across these end markets. U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Frederick, MD.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and speak only as of this date. Forward-looking statements made include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding U.S. Silica's growth opportunities, strategy, future financial results, forecasts, projections, plans and capital expenditures, and the commercial silica industry. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are: (1) fluctuations in demand for commercial silica; (2) the cyclical nature of our customers' businesses; (3) operating risks that are beyond our control; (4) federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing; (5) our ability to implement our capacity expansion plans within our current timetable and budget; (6) loss of, or reduction in, business from our largest customers; (7) increasing costs or a lack of dependability or availability of transportation services or infrastructure; (8) our substantial indebtedness and pension obligations; (9) our ability to attract and retain key personnel; (10) silica-related health issues and corresponding litigation; (11) seasonal and severe weather conditions; and (12) extensive and evolving environmental, mining, health and safety, licensing, reclamation and other regulation (and changes in their enforcement or interpretation). Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in U.S. Silica's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

U.S. SILICA HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
( dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2013
Sales	$ 205,801		$ 129,828
Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation, depletion and amortization)	132,417		80,297
Operating expenses
Selling, general and administrative	19,267		10,099
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	10,341		8,890
	29,608		18,989
Operating income	43,776		30,542
Other (expense) income
Interest expense	(4,013)		(3,535)
Other income, net, including interest income	221		63
	(3,792)		(3,472)
Income before income taxes	39,984		27,070
Income tax expense	(11,330)		(6,878)
Net income	$ 28,654		$ 20,192
Earnings per share:
Basic	$ 0.53		$ 0.38
Diluted	$ 0.53		$ 0.38

	U.S. SILICA HOLDINGS, INC.
	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
	(dollars in thousands)
		June 30,		December 31,
		2014		2013
		(unaudited)		(audited)
	ASSETS
	Current Assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents	$ 105,974		$ 78,256
	Short-term investments	75,101		74,980
	Accounts receivable, net	108,452		75,207
	Inventories, net	58,650		64,212
	Prepaid expenses and other current assets	8,936		6,347
	Deferred income tax, net	18,582		17,737
	Income tax deposits	5,074		-
	Total current assets	380,769		316,739
	Property, plant and mine development, net	441,450		442,116
	Debt issuance costs, net	4,815		5,255
	Goodwill	68,403		68,403
	Trade names	10,436		10,436
	Customer relationships, net	5,915		6,120
	Other assets	11,073		14,392
	Total assets	$ 922,861		$ 863,461
	LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
	Current Liabilities:
	Book overdraft	$ 3,466		$ 4,659
	Accounts payable	52,826		37,376
	Dividends payable	6,770		6,709
	Accrued liabilities	13,020		10,823
	Accrued interest	41		41
	Current portion of long-term debt	3,489		3,488
	Income tax payable	-		1,037
	Total current liabilities	79,612		64,133
	Long-term debt	366,218		367,963
	Liability for pension and other post-retirement benefits	34,431		36,802
	Deferred income tax, net	74,203		71,318
	Other long-term obligations	14,913		13,951
	Total liabilities	569,377		554,167
	Commitments and contingencies
	Stockholders' Equity:
	Preferred stock	-		-
	Common stock	538		534
	Additional paid-in capital	185,155		174,799
	Retained earnings	171,540		137,978
	Treasury stock, at cost	-		-
	Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(3,749)		(4,017)
	Total stockholders' equity	353,484		309,294
	Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 922,861		$ 863,461

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Segment Contribution Margin

Segment contribution margin is a key metric that management uses to evaluate our operating performance and to determine resource allocation between segments. Segment contribution margin excludes certain corporate costs not associated with the operations of the segment. These unallocated costs include costs related to corporate functional areas such as sales, production and engineering, corporate purchasing, accounting, treasury, information technology, legal and human resources.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of income before income taxes, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to segment contribution margin.

	For the Three Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2013
	(in thousands)
Sales:
Oil & Gas Proppants	$ 149,331		$ 77,672
Industrial & Specialty Products	56,470		52,156
Total sales	205,801		129,828
Segment contribution margin:
Oil & Gas Proppants	57,060		35,475
Industrial & Specialty Products	17,615		15,358
Total segment contribution margin	74,675		50,833
Operating activities excluded from segment cost of goods sold	(1,291)		(1,302)
Selling, general and administrative	(19,267)		(10,099)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	(10,341)		(8,890)
Interest expense	(4,013)		(3,535)
Other income, net, including interest income	221		63
Income (loss) before income taxes	$ 39,984		$ 27,070

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income as a measure of operating performance, cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, it is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management's discretionary use, as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Adjusted EBITDA contains certain other limitations, including the failure to reflect our cash expenditures, cash requirements for working capital needs and cash costs to replace assets being depreciated and amortized, and excludes certain non-recurring charges that may recur in the future. Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the methods of calculation.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA.

	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2013
	(in thousands)
Net income	$ 28,654		$ 20,192
Total interest expense, net of interest income	3,811		3,522
Provision for taxes	11,330		6,878
Total depreciation, depletion and amortization expenses	10,341		8,890
EBITDA	54,136		39,482
Non-cash incentive compensation(1)	2,053		704
Post-employment expenses (excluding service costs)(2)	381		586
Other adjustments allowable under our existing credit agreement(3)	3,215		213
Adjusted EBITDA	$ 59,785		$ 40,985
(1) Includes vesting of incentive equity compensation issued to our employees.
(2 ) Includes net pension cost and net post-retirement cost relating to pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations during the applicable period, but in each case excluding the service cost relating to benefits earned during such period. See Note M- Pension and Post-retirement Benefits to our Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
(3)Reflects miscellaneous adjustments permitted under our existing credit agreement, including such items as expenses related to offerings of our common stock by our former controlling shareholder, business development activities related to our growth and expansion initiatives, one-time litigation fees, expenses related to debt refinancing and employment agency fees.

Investor Relations Inquiries: Mike Lawson
Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
301-682-0304
[e-mail]

SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.