Rana Gruber ASA

OSE:RANA

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q4

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

This webcast presentation on Rana Gruber Q4 results. My name is Gunnar Moe, and I am the CEO of Rana Gruber.

With me today is our CFO, Erlend Høyen, who will give you additional insight into the financial results for the quarter and the full year of 2021. I will start today's presentation by giving you a quick overview of Rana Gruber's performance in 2021, which truly has been a milestone year for our company. I will then walk you through the key events for the quarter before Erlend takes you through the financials. I will come back to sum up and share a few comments on our outlook before we move on to Q&A. [Operator Instructions]

Ending the fourth quarter of 2021, we also concluded the entire year, which has been marked by several important milestones. Rana Gruber was listed on Euronext Growth Oslo in the first quarter, and we have prepared for transfer to Oslo Stock Exchange mainly during the year. We have delivered revenues of record high NOK 1.6 billion through a year marked by all-time high prices in the first half to a drop during the summer followed by stabilization at $120 at the end of the year. We have distributed NOK 11.05 per share in dividends during the year, delivering on our ambition to pay out 70% of our net profit. We have launched an ambitious decarbonisation strategy, supported by the valuable partnership with Cargill Metals. The offtake agreement was extended before the summer to 2030.

Following the listing of Rana Gruber in February, the company decided to distribute quarterly dividends to our shareholders, showcasing the strong value creation in our company during the year. Throughout 2021, we have distributed NOK 413 million in dividends, including an extraordinary payout in Q4 and dividends for 2020.

At the end of 2021, we have worked on transferring our financial accounts from NGAAP to IFRS. Following the transition, we have also updated our dividend policy, which now should be based on the adjusted IFRS-based net profit adjusted for unrealized gains and losses from the company's portfolio of hedging instruments. The adjustment secures that the payout decision from quarter-to-quarter is independent of gains or losses on future shipments. We still target to distribute 70% of the net profit, but will include share buybacks as a supplement to dividend distribution to reach the target. For Q4 '21, the Board of Directors has resolved to distribute a dividend of NOK 1.51 per share. In addition to this, we have initiated a share buyback program of up to NOK 14 million, in line with the adjusted dividend policy, which opens up for share buyback in combination with ordinary dividend payments. Dividends and share buyback will imply a payout ratio of 70%.

Let's dive into the specifics from the fourth quarter of 2021. The market for iron ore concentrates trended somewhat lower in Q4 '21 versus Q4 '20. At the end of 2021, iron ore prices stabilized at levels around $120, providing a solid foundation for 2022. Revenues were impacted by lower iron ore prices and lower volumes sold than produced. However, we increased production of both concentrates and ore in the quarter, building up inventories going into 2022. Despite higher energy costs and continued increased activity in the open pit mine, cash cost per ton was reduced. During the quarter, all long-term debt to financial institution was repaid.

I will leave the word to our CFO, Erlend Høyen, to take us through the financials for Q4 and the fiscal year.

[Erlend Høyen, executive]

Thank you, Gunnar. First, we will take a short dive into the financial performance under NGAAP for the fiscal year 2021. Financial figures will be, as always, nominated in Norwegian kroner, if not otherwise mentioned. And please note that this is our last quarter that we will be reporting based on NGAAP. We will transfer our financial accounts to IFRS for the annual report and for the upcoming quarters in 2022 and going forward. We will highlight some key areas for divergence between the 2 accounting standards later in the presentation. Concentrate production in 2021 increased by 6% from last year, supported by good operational performance. Under NGAAP total revenues amounted to NOK 1.62 billion, up 21% compared to 2020. Cash cost per ton for the year were impacted by significantly higher energy costs and increased activity, and EBITDA amounted to NOK 885 million for '21, 33% up from 2020.

Now let's have a closer look at the financial highlights for the fourth quarter. Concentrate production increased by 10% from the comparable period last year, supported by good operational performance. And as Gunnar mentioned, revenue came down in the quarter, driven by lower realized sales prices and lower volumes sold due to timing of shipments. On a positive note, we have been able to reduce our cash cost per tons produced despite the higher energy prices and the increased activity that we have. The fourth quarter was also impacted by transfer to [indiscernible] main list and transfer of the NGAAP to IFRS accounting.

As you can see from this slide, our main product hematite represents more than 93% of our total production. Total production of ore was up in the fourth quarter due to favorable weather conditions with cold and dry weather in addition to a planned buildup of raw material inventory in order to mitigate risk in the COVID situation that we are in. There were no injuries in Q4 '21, which represents a continuation of the positive trend from previous quarters. However, our short-term sick leave has increased due to the precautions that we have taken related to COVID.

Let's look at some other key figures. Gains from our iron ore hedges totaled 103.3 million in the quarter compared with a loss of 40.5 million in Q4 last year. The current hedging portfolio consists of hedges entered into in 2021, in addition to new hedges made in 2022. And I will come back to our hedging a bit more on the next slide. In sum, this net profit for the quarter of NOK 100.4 million compared with NOK 142.1 million in Q4 last year. This corresponds to an EPS of NOK 2.69 in '21 compared with NOK 3.8 in the last -- same period last year.

Now let's look at our hedging exposure. As we have stated in earlier presentations, our hedging positions shall contribute to a stable and solid cash flow, enabling future investments and a predictable and attractive dividend strategy. In periods of high volatility, our hedging strategy has proven valuable focused in Q4 '21, and we have now secured approximately 1/3 of the production for 2022 at an average price of USD 136 per metric ton. The effect is more security and predict the cash flow for the period and for the year in total. Total cash flow from operation amounted to NOK 830 million for 2021, with Q4 '21 contributing for NOK 30.4 million. Throughout the year, NOK 413 million has been distributed as dividends, and we have repaid NOK 273.6 million in noncurrent liabilities during the year. For the fourth quarter, total cash flow amounted to a negative of NOK 162.9 million compared to a positive of NOK 18.4 million in Q4 last year. And by the end of December, cash holdings in the company ended at NOK 264.4 million.

Let's have a look at our financial positions by the end of December. We finished Q4 with a solid financial position, enabling us to deliver on our dividend policy and keeping momentum on the strategic projects and our important investments. With an equity ratio of 50% and cash holdings of NOK 264 million, the company has satisfactory liquidity in the current market conditions. Due to the strong financial position, the company has prepared the entire USD loan of NOK 50 million in the fourth quarter of '21. And the company's debt, excluding leasing obligations by the end of Q4, now consists of an unused credit facility of NOK 100 million.

We'd now quickly go through the most important changes for the transition from NGAAP to IFRS for our accounts. Transitioning from NGAAP to IFRS will mainly affect the areas presented here. On the revenue side, we have under NGAAP used the last known monthly average on [ plus ] when booking our revenues. Under IFRS, revenues are booked based on the last known forward prices for the corresponding months or when shipments will be finally settled.

Our lease and rental agreements over a certain size will be treated as financial lease agreements and hence, goes from being treated as OpEx today in NGAAP to being included in the depreciations going forward under IFRS. The derivative portfolio in total will under IFRS be measured at fair value in our balance sheet. Changes in the portfolio value will be included in the P&L under financials on a monthly basis. Under NGAAP, the value of the derivative positions have been included in the accounting corresponding to the shipments with the same final settlement month as the derivative. For more details on the transfer from NGAAP to IFRS, please see our annual report for a detailed description there.

And I will now conclude the financial review and leave the word back to Gunnar for his final remarks.

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

Thank you, Erlend. To sum up, this quarter has been characterized by continued increase in production. However, with a market for iron ore trending lower compared to the same time of 2020. Entering '22, prices have stabilized above USD 120, and the production trend has been a positive contributor during the year, also for the last months of the year. For Q4 '21, our production of concentrate increased with 10%. Despite higher energy costs, increased activity in the open pit mine and higher corporate activity, we achieved reduced cash cost per ton. Further cash cost reduction is a key priority also going forward. We continued to distribute dividends to our shareholders. In the fourth quarter, extraordinary dividends were distributed to the shareholders. Furthermore, the Board of Directors decided yesterday to pay out NOK 1.51 per share in dividends based on our Q4 '21 performance.

The outlook for Rana Gruber is right. On a global level, market fundamentals remain strong and increased governmental spending on infrastructure projects globally continues to be a positive driver for the Rana Gruber products. Stable iron ore prices at the current levels provide a solid foundation for our performance in '22. Production in '21 was slightly higher than in 2020, delivering on our promise to deliver stable production over time. The switch to a new mining level during '21 provides a good foundation for continued stable production. Our production outlook for the new year is promising, and we expect to continue production at the same level as in '21. Long-term strategic projects have been initiated, which will increase product margins. In addition to represent the production with less emissions leading the way for our industry, increased activity will for some time involve increased cash. However, the company now has the capacity to in-source some working streams previously handled by external providers.

This concludes today's presentation, and please note that we will revert in May for our Q1 report. And I would now like to open for questions. Thank you.

[Unknown Executive]

Thank you. We have received some questions. I will start with you, Gunnar. Can you say something about the process of the strategic projects?

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

Yes. As mentioned sometimes earlier, we are on track with all the strategic projects, and we will come in the next quarter presentation in more detail. So please be patient for this. But at this time, I can't go into the details.

[Unknown Executive]

You have updated dividend policy. Have you considered distributing monthly dividend?

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

Yes, we have considered several options in dividend payouts, but we have concluded to continue with the same strategy as we had last year. So it will be continued with quarterly dividends payout.

[Unknown Executive]

Erlend, do you expect that the numbers will change much due to the transition to IFRS?

[Erlend Høyen, executive]

Not over time. Over time, the numbers should equal out and be the same regardless of the standard that we use for accounting. But I do expect that in market situations where there are high volatility in the market and a lot of changes in the forward prices, we could see some larger fluctuations between quarters going forward due to the strict use of forward curve, I do believe and also the fact that we will have to include the whole changes in the portfolio and the P&L going forward under IFRS.

So short answer is, short term, yes, there could be some differences. Long term, it shouldn't make any difference.

[Unknown Executive]

Perfect. When do you believe Rana Gruber will be listed at Oslo Børs?

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

As mentioned, our goal is to be listed at Oslo Børs in the -- within Q1, and that is still our goal.

[Unknown Executive]

Erlend, do you have any comments on why the cash cost decreased in the quarter, aiming higher energy cost? And how do you expect to develop going forward?

[Erlend Høyen, executive]

The cash cost per metric ton decreased mainly due to the increased production, and that showcases the importance for us as a company to keep momentum on the production side. Going forward, energy prices is always a jolt, and I guess of Norway has been experienced the changes in energy prices the last year. So that we'll have to see. But as Gunnar mentioned, keeping focus on our cost side is something that we always have. We are looking into work that we are able to in-source and hopefully, we will be -- we will see lower costs related to the processes that we have had related to the IFRS converting from NGAAP and the costs related to the listing on the main list of Oslo Børs.

[Unknown Executive]

Thank you. I think that was all. That's cover all the questions received.

[Gunnar Moe, executive]

Thank you. Good.

[Erlend Høyen, executive]

Have a nice weekend, everyone.