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U.S. Silica's (SLCA) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Trail

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U.S. Silica (SLCA - Free Report) recorded a profit of $29.5 million or 36 cents per share in the second quarter of 2017 against a net loss of $11.8 million or 19 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, U.S. Silica’s adjusted earnings came in at 38 cents per share in the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents. The company gained from strong demand and pricing gains for frac sand and continued strength in the oil & gas market in the quarter.

Revenues for the reported quarter was $290.5 million, a roughly two-and-a-half-fold year over year jump. It, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $309.8 million. Overall sales volume jumped 63% year over year in the quarter to around 3.6 million tons.

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Quote

Segment Highlights

Revenues for the Oil & Gas division were $235 million in the quarter, a roughly three-and-a-half-fold year over year surge. Overall sales volume soared 106% in the quarter to around 2.7 million tons from 1.3 million tons sold in the prior-year quarter.

Revenues for the Industrial and Specialty Products division came in at $55.4 million in the quarter, up roughly 6% year over year. Overall sales volume was flat year over year at around 0.9 million tons.

Financials

U.S. Silica had $598.5 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, up roughly 32% year over year. Total debt was roughly $511.1 million, up 4% year over year. Capital spending in the second quarter was $135.2 million.

Outlook

U.S. Silica now expects its capital expenditures for 2017 to be in the range of $325 million to $375 million, up from $125–$150 million expected earlier. The company sees higher sand demand in the third quarter and for the remainder of 2017.

Price Performance

U.S. Silica’s shares have lost 28.4% over the past year, underperforming the 32.5% gain of the industry it belongs to.



 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

U.S. Silica is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.

Better-placed companies in the basic materials space include Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK - Free Report) , Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD - Free Report) and The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Westlake has an expected long-term earnings growth of 7.2%.

Air Products has an expected long-term earnings growth of 11.9%.

Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth of 15.5%.

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