NYSE:EAF GrafTech International Q4 2023 Earnings Report $0.60 +0.01 (+1.58%) Closing price 05/2/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$0.62 +0.02 (+2.59%) As of 05/2/2025 07:50 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast GrafTech International EPS ResultsActual EPS-$0.27Consensus EPS -$0.14Beat/MissMissed by -$0.13One Year Ago EPS$0.17GrafTech International Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$137.10 millionExpected Revenue$141.20 millionBeat/MissMissed by -$4.10 millionYoY Revenue Growth-44.60%GrafTech International Announcement DetailsQuarterQ4 2023Date2/14/2024TimeBefore Market OpensConference Call DateWednesday, February 14, 2024Conference Call Time10:00AM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Annual Report (10-K)SEC FilingEarnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by GrafTech International Q4 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrFebruary 14, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 12 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the GrafTech Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded Wednesday, February 14, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Operator00:00:28Mike Dillon, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Thank you. Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:35Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to GrafTech International's earnings call for the Q4 and year of 2023. On with me today are Tim Flanagan, Interim Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Halford, Chief Operating Officer and Catherine Delgado, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Tim will begin with opening comments. Jeremy will then discuss safety, the commercial environment, sales and operational matters. Speaker 100:01:03Catherine will review our quarterly results and other financial details, and Tim will close with comments on our outlook. We will then open the call to questions. Turning to our next slide. As a reminder, some of the matters discussed in this call may include forward looking statements regarding, among other things, performance, trends and strategy. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Speaker 100:01:29Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward looking statements are shown here. We will also discuss certain non GAAP financial measures and these slides include the relevant non GAAP reconciliations. Can find these slides in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.graftech.com. A replay of the call will also be available on our website. I'll now turn the call over to Tim. Speaker 200:01:55Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining GrafTech's 4th quarter earnings call. Let me begin by acknowledging a simple fact. We operate in a cyclical industry and find ourselves in a challenging part of that cycle for our industry and for our business, and our results have fallen short of our expectations. Yet our optimism about the long term prospects of our company remain intact. On this call, we will discuss the actions we are taking in response to the cyclical downturn in demand, which include optimizing our footprint and improving our cost structure, as well as the reasons for our long term positive outlook. Speaker 200:02:33With that backdrop, I will start with the macro environment, which continues to be impacted by economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflict. This includes the ongoing impact above target inflation combined with a high risk interest rate environment. In addition, there are multiple active military conflicts globally as well as strained geopolitical relations, all of which are contributing to expanding disruptions in commercial trade. These and other factors are having a significant impact on the economic performance and outlook for many regions. For example, in the EU, which is collectively the world's 3rd largest economy and a key region for our business, 2023 represented another year of low industrial production and weak economic conditions, which are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Speaker 200:03:23These factors to a constrained global steel industry, which has resulted in persistently soft demand for graphite electrodes. Further, graphite electrode prices remain weak and the industry has suffered from low capacity utilization. In his comments, Jeremy will elaborate on both of these dynamics. As weak demand played out in 2023, GrafTech was also pressured by the impact of a temporary suspension at our Mexican operations in late 2022. We also experienced ongoing cost pressures, partially due to low capacity utilization. Speaker 200:03:58In response, we took a number of steps to help us navigate the headwinds focusing on those things within our control. Our actions included proactively reducing our production volume to align with our demand outlook, closely managing our costs, capital expenditures and working capital levels and at the same time making targeted investments to further improve our operational flexibility and product offerings. And the impact in 2023 was significant. Our initiatives to manage working capital led to more than $100,000,000 of inventory reduction over the course of the year resulting in positive free cash flow for 2023. Further, our efforts to reduce costs nearly drove a 10% in our 2023 period costs. Speaker 200:04:44However, as we enter 2024, the softness in the commercial environment persists This morning, we announced the implementation of a cost rationalization and a footprint optimization plan. This is a set of initiatives designed to reduce our cost structure and optimize our manufacturing footprint, while at the same time preserving our ability to deliver excellent customer service and to capitalize on the long term growth opportunities. Let me briefly walk through the 3 key elements of the program. First, we are indefinitely suspending most of the production activities at our St. Mary's facility, as well as indefinitely idling certain assets within our remaining graphite electrode manufacturing footprint. Speaker 200:05:33As you know, last year, we announced our intentions to restart production at St. Mary's as a primary component of our pin supply risk mitigation strategy. Since then, we have significantly advanced other elements of that strategy. Specifically, we proactively built up our pin inventory to exceed historical levels and proved out the capabilities of Pamplona to be a secondary facility for pin stock production, thereby giving us PIM production capabilities on 2 different continents. With the advancement in these areas, we can adapt to the current environment aligning costs and production with demand, while remaining confident that our supply chains are well positioned to meet the needs of our customers in all regions. Speaker 200:06:162nd, we are implementing actions that will reduce the company's overhead structure and expenses. This includes a thorough review of all our corporate and support functions globally to ensure we have the right structure and resources moving forward. 3rd, we will continue to operate our remaining graphite electrode production facilities at reduced levels as needed in response to weak market conditions, thereby aligning our production with our evolving demand outlook. These actions will drive several key outcomes. Specifically, the suspension of production at St. Speaker 200:06:49Mary's and the reduction in corporate overhead will drive $25,000,000 in annualized cost savings once fully implemented By the end of the second quarter, excluding the impact of one time costs, which are estimated to be approximately $5,000,000 Further, the indefinite idling of certain less efficient assets across our remaining graphite electrode manufacturing footprint We'll reduce our stated capacity on a go forward basis from 202,000 metric tons to 178,000 metric tons, a reduction of 12%. In light of current economic conditions and behaviors of others in the market, we view this as a prudent step. At the same time, it preserves our ability to meet our customers' needs and gives us the flexibility to respond to future upswings in the market. Lastly, these actions will support our efforts to further reduce inventory levels and manage working capital and capital expenditures in 2024. For all the reasons I've noted, we believe these are the right steps for the long term health of our business. Speaker 200:07:50While the focus of much of our discussion today is on near term headwinds and how we are responding, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that we operate in an industry with substantial long term tailwinds. These include the expectations that the steel industry decarbonization efforts will continue to drive continued share growth for electric arc furnace method steel production, thereby driving increased graphite electrode demand. In addition, demand for petroleum needle coke, the key raw material we use produce graphite electrodes is expected to accelerate driven by its use to produce synthetic graphite for the anode portion of lithium ion batteries used in the electrical vehicle market. GrafTech possesses a number of unique competitive advantages that support our ability to capitalize on these trends. These include the substantial vertical integration into petroleum needle coke, as well as a distinct set of capabilities, which supports a compelling customer value proposition. Speaker 200:08:47For all of these reasons, GrafTech is well positioned to benefit from future growth opportunities and create shareholder value. I'll revisit these topics at the end of our prepared remarks. But first, let me turn the call over to Jeremy, followed by Catherine, as they provide more color around our results and near term outlook. Speaker 300:09:06Thank you, Tim, and good morning, everyone. As always, I'll start my comments with a brief update on our safety performance, which is a core value at Crafton. We are encouraged that our 20 recordable incident rate improved significantly from the prior year level and places us among the top operators in the broader manufacturing industry. Improvement in this area was a key point of emphasis with our internal teams in 2023 and I would like to thank all of our team members for their efforts. Yet we must continue to do better and we will not be satisfied until we achieve our ultimate goal of 0 injuries. Speaker 300:09:42Let me now turn to the next slide to provide more color on current macro conditions and the commercial environment. Steel industry production outside of China continues to be constrained by weak demand due to global economic uncertainty. Compounding this has been the impact of steel exports from China, which reached a multi year high in 2023. Looking at data recently published by the World Steel Association, on a global basis, steel production outside of China was approximately 831,000,000 tons in 2023. While this level of production was in line with 2022 in total, There was a significant divergence among regions. Speaker 300:10:26In 2023, steel production increased 12% in India and 6% in Russia. However, this growth was offset by declines in most of our key commercial regions. Specifically, steel output in Europe declined 7% in 20 3 as the ongoing slowdown in industrial production, subdued market demand and high energy costs continued to weigh on steel production. In the Americas, steel production was down 3% in 2023, despite output in the U. S, the largest steel producer in that region being flat year over year. Speaker 300:11:04As we move through the early part of 2024, we believe that a significant amount of global economic uncertainty remains as an overhang on steel demand and production in the near term. This in turn has resulted in ongoing industry wide softness for graphite electrode demand. In addition, Recent changes in competitive dynamics are having a further impact on graphite electrode pricing. 1st, despite the weak demand environment, continue to see a healthy level of electrode exports from certain countries, including India and China into non tariff protected regions such as the Middle East. These are typically lower priced electrodes with prices continuing to decline further of late. Speaker 300:11:492nd, given these export dynamics, we continue to see a knock on pricing effect in tariff protected countries such as within the as Tier 1 competitors have continued to lower pricing in these regions to support volume. As Tim will expand on during his closing comments, We view these as transitory changes in the competitive landscape. However, these are nevertheless dynamics that we must manage in the near term. With that background, let's turn to the next slide for more details on how these factors have impacted our results and how we are responding. Our production and sales volume for the Q4 of 2023 were both approximately 24,000 metric tons. Speaker 300:12:33A key focus throughout 2023 was to proactively manage production volume to align with our evolving demand outlook We were pleased with our team's execution of this strategy. 4th quarter shipments included approximately 5,000 metric tons sold under our LTAs At a weighted average realized price of $8,500 per metric ton and 19,000 metric tons of non LTA sales at a weighted average realized price of approximately $4,800 per metric ton. This weighted average price non LTA sales represents a more than 20% year over year decline and a sequential decline from the Q3 of more than 10%, reflecting the pricing dynamics I referenced. Net sales in the Q4 of 2023 decreased 45% The ongoing shift in the mix of our business from LTA to non LTA volume was the key driver of the year over year decline with lower overall volume and pricing also contributing. For the reasons already mentioned, we expect industry wide demand for comments. Speaker 300:13:52In addition, we are being selective in the commercial opportunities we are choosing to pursue with a focus on competing responsibly. We believe that we provide a compelling value proposition to our customers and we can compete on more than just price. Our value proposition includes a strategically positioned manufacturing footprint that provides operational flexibility and reach to key steelmaking regions. Being the only large scale graphite electrode producer that is substantially vertically integrated into petroleum needle coke, offering access to the architect furnace productivity system and customer technical services at no incremental cost to the customer and a focus on continually expanding our commercial and product offerings. For example, we remain on track to add 800 millimeter supersized electrodes to our portfolio by the end of 2024 to serve a small but growing segment of the UHP graphite electrode market. Speaker 300:14:53As always, we remain relentlessly committed to producing the highest quality graphite electrodes and meeting the needs of our now and in the future. Let me now turn it over to Catherine to cover the rest of our financial details. Speaker 400:15:06Thank you, Jeremy, and good morning to all. Had a net loss of $217,000,000 or $0.85 per share. This included a goodwill impairment charge of CAD171 1,000,000 and a lower cost to market inventory valuation adjustment of $12,000,000 Both of these non cash charges reflect the near term industry wide dynamics we have spoken to, soft graphite electrode demand, weak pricing, both coinciding with higher cost inventory remaining on our balance sheet. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $22,000,000 in the 4th quarter compared to positive adjusted EBITDA of $80,000,000 in the 4th quarter of 2022. The decline in EBITDA reflected, 1st, the continued shift in the mix of our business towards non LPA volume 2nd, lower pricing 3rd, lower sales volume and 4th, the impact of the lower cost of market adjustment. Speaker 400:16:18Also contributing to the decline in adjusted EBITDA was higher year over year cost on a per metric ton basis. However, we did see a sequential improvement in this metric from the 3rd quarter as we anticipated. As shown in the reconciliation provided in our earnings materials posted on our website, our cash COGS per metric tonne declined approximately 7% from the Q3 of 2023 to the Q4. The key driver of this improvement was a quarter over quarter reduction in the level of fixed costs that are being recognized on an accelerated basis due to low production volumes. In other words, These are costs recognized in the current period that would have been inventoried if we were operating at normal production levels. Speaker 400:17:07As a reminder, in the Q3, we recorded approximately $18,000,000 of such costs, approximately half of which was attributable to Seadrift being temporarily idled through the Q3. In the 4th quarter, Needle coke production at Seadrift resumed. This along with the modest increase in graphite electrode production resulted in the amount of such costs recognized in the 4th quarter declining to approximately $10,000,000 Now as it relates to 2024, we anticipate a low teen percentage point decline in our cash COGS per metric compared to the full year cash COGS per metric ton of 2023. In addition to the timing impact of the lower cost or market valuation adjustment that we recorded in the Q4 of 2023, we expect the decline in cash COGS into 2024 to be driven by 3 factors. 1st, the impact of the cost rationalization activities that Tim discussed. Speaker 400:18:13Of the estimated $25,000,000 in annualized cost savings once fully implemented by the end of the second quarter, We expect approximately $15,000,000 of the annualized savings will be reflected as reduced fixed manufacturing costs. 2nd, market pricing for key elements of our cost structure including Deakin Oil, Energy and Coal Tar Pitch continues to moderate as expected. 3rd, we expect a modest year over year improvement in our sales and production volume in 2024, which would have a 2 pronged impact on our cash COGS per metric ton. The anticipated increase in our production volume and capacity utilization rates, this will significantly reduce the amount of fixed costs being recognized on an accelerated basis. In addition, our fixed costs will be recognized over a larger volume base compared to the prior year. Speaker 400:19:17Turning to cash flow. For the Q4 of 2023, we generated $9,000,000 of cash from operating activities and adjusted free cash flow of $4,000,000 This cash flow performance was supported by our ongoing focus on managing our costs, managing our capital expenditures as well as our working capital levels, including another significant reduction in inventory during the quarter. I'm pleased to note that with our disciplined efforts in this area throughout 2023, this resulted in GrafTech being free cash flow positive for the year. Moving to the next slide. We ended the year with a liquidity position of $289,000,000 consisting of $170,000,000 of available cash and $112,000,000 available under our revolving credit facility. Speaker 400:20:14This reflects the financial covenants that limit borrowing availability under our revolver in certain circumstances. More importantly, we do not anticipate the need to borrow against the revolver in 2024. And further, we have no debt maturities until the end of 2028. Now let me turn the call back over to Tim for some additional comments on our outlook. Speaker 200:20:42Thanks, Catherine. Thus far, we've discussed the current environment and how we are responding. Let me spend the last few minutes of our prepared remarks by looking further ahead beyond the near term challenges. To reiterate one of my opening comments, our optimism about the long term prospects for our company remains intact. We operate in a cyclical industry, which necessitates making tough decisions at times as we manage the things within our control. Speaker 200:21:09As a company and a management team, we've been here before and the actions that we announced today have been designed to preserve our flexibility to capitalize on future recovery in the market, and we expect the market to recover. Why do we remain confident? While cyclical, we also operate in an industry with significant long term tailwinds. Decarbonization efforts are driving a transition in steel With electric arc furnaces continuing to increase share of total steel production, the EAF method of steelmaking now accounts for nearly half of global steel production outside of China and an increase from 44% in 2015 with market share growth in nearly every region. And this trend of EAF share growth is expected to continue. Speaker 200:21:58In fact, we continue to see examples of is providing incentives to companies to help fund investments in new EAF capacity. This ongoing transition towards EAF steelmaking is expected to drive demand growth for graphite electrodes over the longer term. Overall, considering planned EAF capacity additions based on steel producer announcements, Along with production increases at existing EAF plants, we estimate that this would translate to global graphite electrode demand outside of China growing at a 3% to 4% CAGR over the next 5 years. While we've seen a change in the competitive dynamics of late as Jeremy indicated, This isn't entirely unexpected at this point in the cycle. We view these as being largely transitory and we are well position to benefit from the long term demand growth for graphite electrodes. Speaker 200:22:50To note a few reasons, first as prior cycles have demonstrated, the anticipated graphite electrode demand in coming years will help ease the current competitive pricing pressures. As a historical reference point, Over the last 20 years, the selling price for our non LTA volume has averaged approximately $6,000 per metric ton adjusted for inflation, which is significantly above current market prices. 2nd, anticipated demand growth for petroleum needle coke, The raw material that we use to produce graphite electrodes will also present a pricing tailwind. To expand on this point, needle coke demand is expected to accelerate driven by its use to produce synthetic graphite for the anode portion of lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicle market. Growing demand for needle coke should result in elevated needle coke pricing. Speaker 200:23:44Given the high historical correlation between petroleum needle coke pricing and graphite electrode pricing with an inflation adjusted spread that has averaged approximately $3,900 metric ton over the last 20 years, this trend should translate to higher market pricing for electrodes. 3rd and specific to competition with Chinese graphite producers, we continue to view their opportunity for competitive inroads in our key markets to be limited over the longer term. The imposition of customs duties and other tariff protections in key EAF steelmaking regions including the U. S. And the EU have served to limit the level of imports from China into these imports from China into these regions. Speaker 200:24:25Further, a quality gap still exists between Chinese electrodes and Tier 1 producers, which will become increasingly evident as new EAFs with more demanding applications come online in the coming years. As it relates to China's domestic graphite electrode demand, the country produces approximately 1,000,000,000 tons of 1,000,000,000 metric tons of steel on an annual basis with approximately 90% still produced using the traditional method of steel making. With even a relatively small percentage shift in the output to the more environmentally friendly EAF model, This would absorb a significant level of domestic graphite electrode production, thereby decreasing incentives for them to explore the export markets. Lastly, and specific to GrafTech, for all the reasons that Jeremy referenced, we provide a compelling value proposition to our customers and can compete on more than just price. As such, we continue to believe that GrafTech will get through this challenging period, Emerge as an industry leader and the preeminent supplier of mission critical products to the electric arc furnace industry. Speaker 200:25:31Before concluding our prepared remarks, let me transition to a brief update on our efforts towards participation in the development of a Western EV battery supply chain. We continue to see potential long term value creation opportunities in this space as we possess key assets, resources and know how to support this industry. Our activities continue to advance in both the areas we have spoken to previously. 1st, leveraging our assets and technical know how in the area of petroleum needle coke production given the expected demand growth for this key raw material. 2nd, leveraging our graphitization resources and expertise to produce synthetic graphite material for battery anodes. Speaker 200:26:13We remain excited about the opportunity and look forward to sharing more as we can. In closing, We remain optimistic about the long term outlook for our business and our ability to deliver shareholder value. We are an industry leading provider of a consumable product that is critical for the growing electric arc furnace method of steel making. We possess a distinct set of assets, capabilities and competitive advantages. Lastly, as a result of our disciplined capital allocation strategy, we have ample liquidity to navigate the near term. Speaker 200:26:47This concludes our prepared remarks. We'll now open the call for questions. Operator00:26:53Thank you. Your first question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:27:28Yes, good morning and thanks for taking my question. So I appreciate all the color on the steps that you're taking to navigate this market. I was hoping maybe we could just try to frame this. You provided some color on expectations around cash costs down Low teens, if I do some rough math that kind of seems to get you into the high 4,000s maybe 4,800 that kind of matches the current spot price or the non LTA realized price you had in the Q4, that just very rough lead you to a neutral or 0 EBITDA kind of environment. Is that sort of what you guys are picturing for 2024 as you navigate sort of cash costs and realized pricing kind of being in the same ballpark? Speaker 200:28:19Yes, Matt. Thanks for the question and I appreciate it. And certainly, I think, if you apply the current spot price here at the end of the 4th quarter and do the math the way you do, I think that's what it would suggest. But I would also just remind you that, that cost guidance also reflects the fact that while we've said that we're going to improve or slightly increase sales volume year over year. We still expect to be running at a utilization rate kind of well below normalized capacity. Speaker 200:28:48So we still think there's room for cost to come down as we move through. As volumes pick up, we expect the cost to navigate down towards the lower 4,000 range over time. But in the current environment, at spot pricing is what you that we recognized in the Q4, I think that's a fair statement. Speaker 500:29:11Okay. And then I was hoping you could just talk about working capital. Obviously, you've done a nice job managing working capital throughout 2023 to ease the actually generate cash. Just What's the working capital or inventory opportunity that you see in 2024 just as we think about liquidity and how that sort of progresses over the course of the year? Speaker 200:29:37Yes. So we took out just over $100,000,000 of inventory during the year, But we also commented we offset some of the reduction of our inventory on hand with building additional pin stock, right. So a little bit of an offset there. We think there's opportunities with the footprint optimization that we've just outlined to further reduce inventory levels, Not certainly to the order of magnitude that we've seen in 2023, but there's some opportunity to relieve some additional inventory here in 2024. That being said, as volumes pick up both on the sales and production side over the course of the year, you'll get a little bit of a negative impact on working capital. Speaker 200:30:21So net net fairly balanced from an overall working capital perspective as we go throughout the year. Speaker 500:30:27Okay. And I think we've gotten the comment or question from a lot of investors Just given the current liquidity picture, I think you've outlined some nice steps today to manage and preserve liquidity. But as you see things today, any reason to raise additional capital or borrow additional money In the context of having $290,000,000 of liquidity today? Speaker 200:30:55Yes. I mean, you said it at the end there, right? We ended the year With $177,000,000 of cash and the availability that's on the revolver, we feel good about the liquidity position and where we stand today. And really it's all in the context of the steps and what we've announced this morning with the idling of St. Mary's, The rationalization of the rest of our footprint as well as kind of the corporate and the overhead side of the business taking a hard look at that as well. Speaker 200:31:25We think all of those steps really position us well to manage the near term environment. Speaker 500:31:31Helpful. Last one for me, if I could just squeeze it in. The other conversation we have a lot is just around customer relationships and Contracting as it pertains to customers that have rolled off of those long term agreements and maybe there being some ill will or just bad taste in customers' mouths post having those long term agreements in place that were at higher prices. And I'm sure you're not going to provide specifics on conversations, but any commentary or feel or body language you can give us around like is that a persistent problem? Are you making progress in sort of bridging that gap with customers. Speaker 500:32:15You talked about the long term opportunity here, which seems pretty positive, assuming you can sort of get customers back in your good graces. So just any color or thoughts on that would be really helpful. Thanks. Speaker 200:32:29Yes, Matt. Good question. And no, we're not going to comment on any particular customer interactions or relationships. But I would say, we went into the 24 negotiation process, which continues, It's ongoing throughout the year with a pretty difficult macro backdrop that we've talked to. And I think we're pretty pleased with the way that it's played out In terms of the level of engagement with customers both in the Americas as well as in Europe and the rest of the world for that matter. Speaker 200:33:00So Generally speaking, very pleased with where our customer relationships stand. And we're going to continue to focus On those customers where they value the long term relationship and the value proposition that we bring to the table, It's the technical services, it's the continuous furnace monitoring that we offer. Those customers that value that are the customers that we build these relationships with and we're having the most success with. We're pleased with where our customers stand at the moment. Speaker 500:33:34Okay, great. Thanks for the time. I appreciate it. Speaker 200:33:37Yes. Thank you. Operator00:33:40Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Bill Peterson from JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Yes, Speaker 600:33:47hi. Good morning. Speaker 200:33:48Good morning, Bill. Speaker 600:33:49Thanks for taking the questions. Yes, thanks. I guess, how should we think about the shape of shipment as you see it today as we think about throughout 2024? I'm asking in the context of one of your Tier 1 peers. No, they provided some sort of sales outlook and expect the first half of twenty twenty four to decline versus the second half of twenty twenty three, It also declined again in the second half of 'twenty four relative to the first half. Speaker 600:34:14And I'm not really sure what their assumptions are around pricing, but it seemed to indicate there's no expectation of improvement at least from a shipment profile in the back half of the year. So just kind of Speaker 300:34:22wanted to get a view Speaker 600:34:23on how you're thinking about that? Speaker 200:34:26Yes, it's really tough to comment on somebody else's shipping patterns and the way they've contracted and the way that they manage Kind of their customer relationships or how they do that. I think as we look out into 'twenty four, as we've commented without providing Specific numbers, we do anticipate an increase, modest increase in sales volume next year. We'd expect sales to be in line Q1 from where we did in Q4 and then in the year we'll progress from there. I think as we look out longer as we head into 2025, we are anticipating volumes to continue to pick up and some market recovery. Speaker 600:35:08Okay. Thanks for that. And I guess from your vantage How are peers in the industry responding in terms of supply? It appears directionally that a few of the peers are in fact reducing output, But also have higher utilization than GrafTech. So I guess what is the risk to your share or maybe continued pricing environment, given that your peers are not really trimming capacity, it doesn't appear to be trimming capacity as much as you are. Speaker 200:35:38Yes. I mean, I think we again are focused on taking the steps that we believe are right for GrafTech as a business that will not only position us best from a cost perspective, utilize our most efficient assets in the near term, but also allow us to continue to deliver electrodes to our customers in all regions. And we think the plans that we've laid out allow us to do that. Absent of what our competitors are doing and what their drivers are in terms of their own respective business. But right now, I would generally say everybody's Probably operating at less than optimal utilization levels and we're no different. Speaker 600:36:21Okay. And it sounds like you're comfortable with your cash position for the year, but I guess if demand in shipments were, I guess, to take another leg down or declined significantly. Are you evaluating are there other liquidity alternatives such as asset sales, maybe secured debt issuance or anything else that could be on the table, should things actually progress worse? Just trying to get a sense of what alternatives you have. Speaker 200:36:46Yes. I mean, there's always the risk that the market continues to move sideways or down further. At this point in time, we have a fair portion of our order book lock for the year, just given the negotiation process that we just went through. And that certainly is something that we took into account as we looked at the cost rationalization and footprint optimization program that we just went through. So again, we feel good about the steps we're taking and how it positions us this year. Speaker 200:37:19And The world will play out as the world plays out going forward. Speaker 600:37:26Okay. Well, thanks for that. I'll leave it there and take it offline, but good luck with Navigating the environment here. Speaker 200:37:35Thanks, Bill. Operator00:37:38Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Alex Hacking from Citi. Please proceed. Speaker 700:37:46Yes, good morning. I apologize if I missed this, but could you provide any color on the pricing outlook for The first half of this year? Thanks. Speaker 200:37:58Yes, Alex. Thanks and appreciate you joining the call. We haven't provided any outlook for the pricing environment and frankly, there's no benefit to us in terms of getting into around where pricing is. You can look at pricing, what we reported for the Q4 and use that if you want. Speaker 700:38:18Okay. Thanks. And then I guess regarding India and China exports, Yes, I think as you mentioned, Chinese steel production was probably up a little bit last year. Indian steel production was up strongly last year. Yes, they seem to be exporting more graphite electrodes. Speaker 700:38:40Do you have any color on what's happened So capacity adds there, I guess what's driving the increase in exports from those regions? Thanks. Speaker 200:38:52Yes. So I think our commentary about exports was on the steel side. And I think Chinese graphite electrode exports are Maybe introducing some pricing pressures in the market, which we talked a little bit about in the Q3. But year over year, Chinese Electrode exports are actually down, kind of a double digit percentage. Indian exports, Again, maybe up slightly year over year, but on a scale, they're a fraction of what the Chinese export market looks like. Speaker 200:39:25So net net, I don't think there's that much more material being put into the export market, but I think the pricing has been more aggressive, certainly. Speaker 700:39:36Okay, thanks. So I guess you haven't lost market share to India and Chinese material last In fact, if anything, you would have gained share against that if exports were down? Speaker 200:39:50No, I mean Is it fair? I don't know if that's the way I would look at it. There are certain areas In the non tariff protected regions where you see more activity from those players in those markets that we otherwise would not want to sell into, and we would otherwise put material into our core markets of the U. S. And the EU. Speaker 700:40:18Okay, thanks. And then I guess just finally, any comments around your market share In the U. S. Market in particular, I think it's the most attractive market for electrodes. We know that you potentially lost some market share beginning of last year given the Monterey issues. Speaker 700:40:39So any update on your U. S. Market share? Thanks. Speaker 200:40:44Yes. And I think we commented in the Q3 on this in particular about how the first step for us was to be able to go into The Q4 negotiation window with all of our customers, not just those customers in the U. S, with the ability to commit to volumes the full year and we've done that. And as I said earlier in one of my responses to a question, we're very pleased with the way Those negotiations went and the volumes that we were allocated from all of our customers. And we don't necessarily give specifics in terms of market share, but again, the Americas is a substantial part of our business and we'll continue to be going forward. Speaker 800:41:29Okay. Thank you. Operator00:41:34Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Arun Viswanathan from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 900:41:44Great. Thanks for taking my question. I guess, first question would be, You noted that there is a significant cost per ton reduction. I understand the footprint optimization will help in that. But what kind of utilization rates should we think about as you move through the year? Speaker 900:42:06On our math, it would seem that you'd need to get into the 70s or 80s in order to get those that cost per ton down into the $4,500 or $5,000 per ton range, is that required? And I know that you're shutting down St. Mary's, but Are there greater actions you can take? I mean running at 47%, it would imply that there's 50% or so of your capacity that's It's really not being utilized. Would you consider shutting down maybe some of the other plants like Pamplona or Cali or Maybe you can just walk us through that. Speaker 200:42:45Yes. Thanks, Arun. And kind of a lot in that question, so if I miss a part, please let me know. I guess first question with respect to your question on cost and how we get to levels below kind of what we're otherwise guiding to. And remember, that's not all going to come on the back of fixed cost leverage or fixed cost reductions, right? Speaker 200:43:09Fixed costs represent roughly 25% or so of our overall cost structure. Any increase in utilization will improve the cost structure, but we do anticipate further improvement from the price of needle coke, as well as our other variable costs, right? So we're seeing kind of favorable trends in the market for all of those and those will continue to benefit us going forward, particularly in terms of energy prices in Europe. In terms of I think your second part of the question was around, would we shut another plant down? Again, the actions we've taken today with St. Speaker 200:43:53Mary's and our corporate overhead is predicated on our view of the world and our Understanding of our business and market and don't necessarily, let me say it this way. We think we've taken the steps needed to be successful to navigate through this trough and get to the other side when we anticipate the market picking back up. You know, us running our plants in Europe and in Monterey are important in our ability to deliver all of the products and make deliver on our commitments to our customers, but as well as being able to otherwise capitalize when the market picks up longer term, which again, and we've said it a few times, We firmly believe that the market will pick up as we move forward, both because of the decarbonization of steel as well as the demand for needle coke through the EV market. So, we're going to continue to run those assets, but we're going to run them as efficiently as we can. Speaker 300:44:57Anything else Speaker 900:44:58for you? Sorry about that. I was on mute. Just one other question. Just could you elaborate on your plans to pursue commercialization of your needle coke into the EV market. Speaker 900:45:08Is there any support you can get from IRA or any other strategic initiatives there? Speaker 200:45:17Thanks, Arun. I'll let Jeremy take that one. Speaker 300:45:20Yes, Arun, so a couple of things there. First of all, you'll recall that as we previously noted In July, we did file a permit application to significantly expand the capacity of production At Seadrift, excuse me, and at the time we said that we would be able to if we went forward with the project, We would have the ability to increase the 140,000 ton nameplate capacity by about 40 percent through a combination of calcined and pre calcined needle coke. And so at the time we said that We would anticipate that process taking about a year and we don't have any reason to think that will be any longer or shorter than that at this point. So continuing we're continuing down that path. In terms of actually commercializing and engaging with potential customers, we continue down that path both from a needle coke as well as a graphitization perspective, we have done trials with several customers And I would say that the pace of activity there is increasing. Speaker 300:46:34And so we feel good about where we're at, but nothing to announce at this point. Speaker 900:46:41Great. And then just lastly, just wanted to ask again on that issue of potential Electrod substitutes are competition from Chinese and Indian electrodes. Presumably, during the shutdown of Monterey, there was some potential of your customers maybe source selections from other suppliers. What's the strategy to kind of get back that Those volumes, I know you said that there's a value proposition and service that you provide, but it would Peer that just given the pricing environment that price would be the main lever to try and get back some of that share. Maybe you can just elaborate on some of the other services that you think would be helpful in regaining that share? Speaker 900:47:32Thanks. Speaker 200:47:34Yes, Arun, I mean, I think ultimately like any commercial relationship, right, It's the relationship and it's providing a compelling value proposition, not only through a quality product, which again, we think Our electrodes are the best in the world in terms of quality, but it's also what else you offer your customers and how they view you, as well. And I think it's important to remember that especially in the U. S. Market, in particular, price isn't always the bottom line in terms of determination, just given the fact that the U. S. Speaker 200:48:07Mills are still running at very healthy utilization rates, any sort of quality issues or breakage or interruption to their into their furnaces ultimately cost them money. So, they're going to continue to air on the side of producing quality electrodes and that's what we remain focused on. Speaker 900:48:27Great. Thanks a lot. Speaker 200:48:29Thank you. Operator00:48:31Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Kirkland Key from Imperial Capital. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:48:38Hello, everyone. Thank you for the call. Just a few follow ups, if I may. On the competitive landscape, I completely recognize it's not all about price and cost can be a moving target, but where do you think your 3 plants are on the cost curve? Maybe just which quartile do you think they are Speaker 200:49:00Sorry, go ahead. Sorry. I thought you had a further question or more to that. Yes, again, we don't necessarily break our plants Separately, we look at the overall manufacturing footprint as kind of a global network, and we think we're very cost competitive. Where exactly on the cost curve? Speaker 200:49:25I won't speculate, but we think we're well positioned from a cost perspective. And certainly, as we continue to drive up our utilization at the plants, that just makes those plants even more competitive given their overall size and scale. Speaker 800:49:40Got it. Thank you. And with respect to competitors idling electrode capacity, can you expand on that? Do you have any estimates of what might be happening on that front? Speaker 200:49:55I can't comment on what our competitors are doing. It would just be pure speculation. But if they want to idle capacity, I'm okay with that. Speaker 800:50:03Okay, great. Thanks. Last call you mentioned that China was limiting the export of synthetic graphite. Is Any comments on that front? Speaker 300:50:17Yes. So I think the Specific comment had to do with synthetic graphite for use in anode materials and Kind of a recognition of the value of synthetic graphite as we start seeing further electrification of the fleet. And so that continues to be the case, perhaps Restricting or at least they're at least requiring licenses from the producers before they're allowed to export that material. Speaker 200:50:54It's not Speaker 300:50:57something that we've got direct experience with, but we do know that that is a key driver potential exports from there and kind of a recognition of the importance of synthetic graphite in the overall electric vehicle supply chain. Speaker 800:51:14Great. Thank you. And on Cedar, how much would a 40% increase in capacity cost? Speaker 200:51:21Yes. So we haven't provided a specific number, but what we've guided to in the past is that a full replication of Seadrift would be north of $750,000,000 and the replication or the addition of that 40% isn't linear, right? It's not 40% of 7 We can do it much more efficient than that. So, yes. Speaker 800:51:42Got it. Super helpful. Last one, the order book, how much have you sold For fiscal 'twenty four, how much volume? Speaker 200:51:50Yes. So we're we haven't provided exact numbers in terms of what total volume we expect for the full year, but we're well over 50% committed at this point heading into the Q1. Speaker 800:52:08For the full year? Speaker 200:52:10For the full year. Speaker 800:52:11Great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Speaker 500:52:16Thanks. Operator00:52:17Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Curt Woodworth from UBS. Please go ahead. Speaker 1000:52:26Good morning. Hi, Tim. So just wanted to follow-up on Speaker 300:52:33So in terms of cracking the code around Speaker 1000:52:37sort of the EV anode Market, right. So you had PSX that signed some deals with Bivonix on the Coke side. You've got A lot of the EV anode development underway. And so on the one hand, you have competitive advantage on the petroleum coke going into synthetic and then you also have capability just on the pure equipment, machining, material process side the business. So I guess the question is, what where do you think the value in use is most compelling in your portfolio? Speaker 1000:53:14Do you think it's more processing or on the coke side? And then how should we think about like next steps? Is it more likely that you would partner with someone to potentially expand Speed Drift or You have excess machining capacity that could be utilized to make synthetic. It's hard for us to really frame kind of the relative economics and I know that it's early stages, but anything you could help us think about would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Speaker 200:53:53Yes. So let me start and then Jeremy, I'll ask to chime in as well. And the two areas that I commented on in particular where we see the opportunity as it relates to us is utilization of our graphitization assets as well as our expertise and Seadrift as a facility, Whether as it is constructed today or if we were to pursue an expansion, both of those are pretty compelling because Both sets of assets are really dual use assets, right? The process for graphitizing anode material isn't really any different than the process for creating electrodes that we do and have been doing for decades decades. So really it's an opportunity for us to not only maximize our utilization of our assets, but also there's an arbitrage opportunity to go after the markets have the best margin longer term. Speaker 200:54:50In the short run, right, there's really no benefit or upside in 2024, right? These are all kind of longer term opportunities in place for us, but still are certainly exciting ventures as we head out. The way we think about it from a balance sheet perspective and what the construct looks like, there's a dozen different ways This could play out or more than a dozen different ways that this could play out. But certainly given kind of the challenging environment right now, We wouldn't do this on our own in most cases, right? Given the capital outlay or any sort of significant expansion of At Seadrift, we wouldn't be in a position nor would we wanted to take on that cost on our own. Speaker 200:55:32Jeremy, I don't know if you want to add to that? Speaker 300:55:35Yes, I think you've hit the key points, Tim. This is an opportunity that will be comparatively small in the near term 2024 and as we accelerate through 2025 and into later the latter part of the decade is really when we see the Western supply chains developing and are seeking to be a participant. Speaker 1000:56:02Okay. And then in terms of needle coke in the past, you've commented on 3rd party pricing data that you have. Speaker 300:56:11Can you give us a sense for Speaker 1000:56:12where you think needle coke is at? And then I know you're hesitant to provide any Commentary on pricing for electrodes, but directionally speaking, order of magnitude, should think that your 1Q non LPA price will fall similarly in fashion as the last Q on Q or Any comments would be helpful. Thanks guys. Speaker 200:56:39Yes. So let me start on the electrode side and then I'll let Jeremy comment on needle coke. Yes, we're not going to provide kind of any sort of specific outlook, whether directional or not, beyond the macro kind of commentary we've provided, right? We're still negotiating orders on a daily basis and it doesn't benefit us to signal where we think those prices are going to go. Speaker 300:57:01Yes. And if we look at needle coke, we did see some further softening of the needle coke market. Again, we rely on some import export data to tell us where the market's trading and that does tend to lag by a couple of months. But We did see 4th quarter spot pricing for needle coke in the $1,000 to $1300 range, which was a further decline from where we were in the Q3. But this is something that is a very Highly volatile market. Speaker 300:57:36We can see in the recent past prices as high as $3,000 a tonne in 2022, when in fact they were closer to $1,000 the year before that. So We're it's pretty volatile. We still believe in the long term trends on needle coke, but really the softness right now I think is a reflection of the soft graphite electrode market without an offset in the form of the expanding Western EV supply chains yet. Speaker 1000:58:07And would your captive cost at Seadrift be below 1,000? Speaker 200:58:17Yes. So again, we haven't historically given a lot of detail on Ctrip because we do see it as a competitive advantage for us. Even in this sort of needle coke market given the quality of the Seadrift needle coke, It is still cost competitive in this market. Speaker 1000:58:35Okay. Thank you very much. Thanks. Operator00:58:41Thank you. Our last question comes from the line of Abhilanda from Bank of America. Please go ahead. Speaker 1100:58:51Good morning. Thanks for squeezing me in. Just a few questions for me. Kind of want to maybe touch on the regional differences, what you're seeing in kind of on the outlook side, primarily different between U. S. Speaker 1100:59:02And Europe. Like, I guess, what are you seeing in terms of competition differences between those two areas? Maybe how it relates to what you're seeing graphite electrode pricing there? And kind of maybe a sense of your capacity utilization by the regions? Thanks. Speaker 200:59:20Yes. Thanks, Abe. And in terms of the outlook by region, again, it really follows the Growth story more broadly, right? The U. S. Speaker 200:59:29Has remained to be a fairly healthy market for us. Utilization rates continue to be in the mid-70s. Europe is A market that is certainly more challenged from an economic standpoint. I think capacity utilization in Europe ended the year in the or 53% range. So thereby you can kind of deduce Kind of the overall quality or intensity of those markets. Speaker 201:00:02In terms of other competition, we do have tariff protections in the U. S. And in Europe. U. S, there's tariffs in place against Chinese imports and in Europe, it's both the Indian and Chinese imports. Speaker 201:00:16So Yes, the markets are kind of where they're at. Again, capacity utilization, we look at our network Certainly have and will continue to going forward as a global manufacturing footprint. And so we won't provide kind of capacity utilization by plant. I don't think it's really relevant in terms of how we look at our business. Speaker 1101:00:44Is that non Tier 1 competition kind of Different in Europe versus the U. S. Or the intensity of it and its impact on pricing, do you notice any differences or not really? Speaker 201:01:01No, I mean, you don't see much of a presence in Europe of either the Chinese or the Indians, right? It's Your Tier 1 players are the ones that are for the most part the incumbents in that market. You do see a small Indian presence in the U. S, but I don't know if I would say that the intensity is any different, right? Speaker 1101:01:26Got it. And then kind of on your cost rationalization and footprint Plan, you kind of mentioned this the third point, the operating at reduced levels. And I think you kind of mentioned taking your from 202 to 178 tons. Can you just walk us through that? How you're thinking about implementing that and how we expect that to trend kind of over the year? Speaker 201:01:56Yes. So really there's 3 things there. One is the idling of St. Mary's, right? So we're taking down most of the production activities at our St. Speaker 201:02:07Mary's location. We also looked at all of our assets across the, again, our entire footprint of assets and said, which are the ones that are efficient and how can we best optimize utilization of our assets. So there's another subset of assets in the other plants that we're continuing to run that will stop running and won't otherwise consider those as part of our productive capacity. The combination of those two things and The remaining footprint is what will inform the 178,000 metric ton capacity that will measure our utilization against going forward. With respect to the commentary around matching our production of our Operating footprint relative to commercial demand, again, it's the 178,000 tons that are part of our capacity. Speaker 201:03:02We will scale our production to our demand, right? We need to be conscious of our working capital where we want to run as efficiently as possible. We'll continue to operate much like we've done here in 'twenty three where we've scaled back operations at various points in time to ensure that we're in alignment with overall demand. Speaker 1101:03:22So it seems like you potentially have some room to maybe idle certain assets longer to kind of better match it, if for some reason the market takes a further downturn. Is that the right way to maybe look at it? Speaker 201:03:35Yes, I mean, again, I would say that we're we vital the assets that we think best position us to navigate Our view on the market as it exists today and as we look out forward, certainly we can slow down other assets at various points in time during the year. But again, we want to have those assets ready and in a position to begin production or continue production as the market recovers and as we look out over the long term. Speaker 1101:04:05And my last one, it's kind of a follow-up to some previous questions. When you think about your liquidity, especially on the cash side, is there like a minimum operating cash number that you'd be comfortable operating at? Speaker 201:04:19Yes, I mean, I think we've said in the past, dollars 50,000,000 just from an operational standpoint is a very Effective or easy number for us to manage the business on. But I think just overall liquidity, we're sitting in a very healthy liquidity position as we look out into 2024. Speaker 1101:04:39That's it for me. Thank you very much. Speaker 201:04:42Thanks a lot. Operator01:04:45Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. I will now hand the call back Speaker 201:05:00We look forward to speaking with everyone next quarter. Have a great day.Read morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallGrafTech International Q4 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Annual report(10-K) GrafTech International Earnings HeadlinesGrafTech reports Q1 EPS (15c), consensus (13c)April 26, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comGrafTech sees FY25 CapEx $40MApril 26, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comThe Trump Dump is starting; Get out of stocks now?The first 365 days of the Trump presidency… Will be the best time to get rich in American history.May 4, 2025 | Paradigm Press (Ad)Q1 2025 GrafTech International Ltd Earnings CallApril 26, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comGrafTech International Ltd. (EAF) Q1 2025 Earnings Call TranscriptApril 25, 2025 | seekingalpha.comGrafTech International shares tumble on Q1 earnings missApril 25, 2025 | investing.comSee More GrafTech International Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like GrafTech International? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on GrafTech International and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About GrafTech InternationalGrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) research, develops, manufactures, and sells graphite and carbon-based solutions worldwide. The company offers graphite electrodes to produce electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals; and petroleum needle coke, a crystalline form of carbon used in the production of graphite electrodes and synthetic graphite. 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There are 12 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the GrafTech Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded Wednesday, February 14, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Operator00:00:28Mike Dillon, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Thank you. Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:35Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to GrafTech International's earnings call for the Q4 and year of 2023. On with me today are Tim Flanagan, Interim Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Halford, Chief Operating Officer and Catherine Delgado, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Tim will begin with opening comments. Jeremy will then discuss safety, the commercial environment, sales and operational matters. Speaker 100:01:03Catherine will review our quarterly results and other financial details, and Tim will close with comments on our outlook. We will then open the call to questions. Turning to our next slide. As a reminder, some of the matters discussed in this call may include forward looking statements regarding, among other things, performance, trends and strategy. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Speaker 100:01:29Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward looking statements are shown here. We will also discuss certain non GAAP financial measures and these slides include the relevant non GAAP reconciliations. Can find these slides in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.graftech.com. A replay of the call will also be available on our website. I'll now turn the call over to Tim. Speaker 200:01:55Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining GrafTech's 4th quarter earnings call. Let me begin by acknowledging a simple fact. We operate in a cyclical industry and find ourselves in a challenging part of that cycle for our industry and for our business, and our results have fallen short of our expectations. Yet our optimism about the long term prospects of our company remain intact. On this call, we will discuss the actions we are taking in response to the cyclical downturn in demand, which include optimizing our footprint and improving our cost structure, as well as the reasons for our long term positive outlook. Speaker 200:02:33With that backdrop, I will start with the macro environment, which continues to be impacted by economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflict. This includes the ongoing impact above target inflation combined with a high risk interest rate environment. In addition, there are multiple active military conflicts globally as well as strained geopolitical relations, all of which are contributing to expanding disruptions in commercial trade. These and other factors are having a significant impact on the economic performance and outlook for many regions. For example, in the EU, which is collectively the world's 3rd largest economy and a key region for our business, 2023 represented another year of low industrial production and weak economic conditions, which are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Speaker 200:03:23These factors to a constrained global steel industry, which has resulted in persistently soft demand for graphite electrodes. Further, graphite electrode prices remain weak and the industry has suffered from low capacity utilization. In his comments, Jeremy will elaborate on both of these dynamics. As weak demand played out in 2023, GrafTech was also pressured by the impact of a temporary suspension at our Mexican operations in late 2022. We also experienced ongoing cost pressures, partially due to low capacity utilization. Speaker 200:03:58In response, we took a number of steps to help us navigate the headwinds focusing on those things within our control. Our actions included proactively reducing our production volume to align with our demand outlook, closely managing our costs, capital expenditures and working capital levels and at the same time making targeted investments to further improve our operational flexibility and product offerings. And the impact in 2023 was significant. Our initiatives to manage working capital led to more than $100,000,000 of inventory reduction over the course of the year resulting in positive free cash flow for 2023. Further, our efforts to reduce costs nearly drove a 10% in our 2023 period costs. Speaker 200:04:44However, as we enter 2024, the softness in the commercial environment persists This morning, we announced the implementation of a cost rationalization and a footprint optimization plan. This is a set of initiatives designed to reduce our cost structure and optimize our manufacturing footprint, while at the same time preserving our ability to deliver excellent customer service and to capitalize on the long term growth opportunities. Let me briefly walk through the 3 key elements of the program. First, we are indefinitely suspending most of the production activities at our St. Mary's facility, as well as indefinitely idling certain assets within our remaining graphite electrode manufacturing footprint. Speaker 200:05:33As you know, last year, we announced our intentions to restart production at St. Mary's as a primary component of our pin supply risk mitigation strategy. Since then, we have significantly advanced other elements of that strategy. Specifically, we proactively built up our pin inventory to exceed historical levels and proved out the capabilities of Pamplona to be a secondary facility for pin stock production, thereby giving us PIM production capabilities on 2 different continents. With the advancement in these areas, we can adapt to the current environment aligning costs and production with demand, while remaining confident that our supply chains are well positioned to meet the needs of our customers in all regions. Speaker 200:06:162nd, we are implementing actions that will reduce the company's overhead structure and expenses. This includes a thorough review of all our corporate and support functions globally to ensure we have the right structure and resources moving forward. 3rd, we will continue to operate our remaining graphite electrode production facilities at reduced levels as needed in response to weak market conditions, thereby aligning our production with our evolving demand outlook. These actions will drive several key outcomes. Specifically, the suspension of production at St. Speaker 200:06:49Mary's and the reduction in corporate overhead will drive $25,000,000 in annualized cost savings once fully implemented By the end of the second quarter, excluding the impact of one time costs, which are estimated to be approximately $5,000,000 Further, the indefinite idling of certain less efficient assets across our remaining graphite electrode manufacturing footprint We'll reduce our stated capacity on a go forward basis from 202,000 metric tons to 178,000 metric tons, a reduction of 12%. In light of current economic conditions and behaviors of others in the market, we view this as a prudent step. At the same time, it preserves our ability to meet our customers' needs and gives us the flexibility to respond to future upswings in the market. Lastly, these actions will support our efforts to further reduce inventory levels and manage working capital and capital expenditures in 2024. For all the reasons I've noted, we believe these are the right steps for the long term health of our business. Speaker 200:07:50While the focus of much of our discussion today is on near term headwinds and how we are responding, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that we operate in an industry with substantial long term tailwinds. These include the expectations that the steel industry decarbonization efforts will continue to drive continued share growth for electric arc furnace method steel production, thereby driving increased graphite electrode demand. In addition, demand for petroleum needle coke, the key raw material we use produce graphite electrodes is expected to accelerate driven by its use to produce synthetic graphite for the anode portion of lithium ion batteries used in the electrical vehicle market. GrafTech possesses a number of unique competitive advantages that support our ability to capitalize on these trends. These include the substantial vertical integration into petroleum needle coke, as well as a distinct set of capabilities, which supports a compelling customer value proposition. Speaker 200:08:47For all of these reasons, GrafTech is well positioned to benefit from future growth opportunities and create shareholder value. I'll revisit these topics at the end of our prepared remarks. But first, let me turn the call over to Jeremy, followed by Catherine, as they provide more color around our results and near term outlook. Speaker 300:09:06Thank you, Tim, and good morning, everyone. As always, I'll start my comments with a brief update on our safety performance, which is a core value at Crafton. We are encouraged that our 20 recordable incident rate improved significantly from the prior year level and places us among the top operators in the broader manufacturing industry. Improvement in this area was a key point of emphasis with our internal teams in 2023 and I would like to thank all of our team members for their efforts. Yet we must continue to do better and we will not be satisfied until we achieve our ultimate goal of 0 injuries. Speaker 300:09:42Let me now turn to the next slide to provide more color on current macro conditions and the commercial environment. Steel industry production outside of China continues to be constrained by weak demand due to global economic uncertainty. Compounding this has been the impact of steel exports from China, which reached a multi year high in 2023. Looking at data recently published by the World Steel Association, on a global basis, steel production outside of China was approximately 831,000,000 tons in 2023. While this level of production was in line with 2022 in total, There was a significant divergence among regions. Speaker 300:10:26In 2023, steel production increased 12% in India and 6% in Russia. However, this growth was offset by declines in most of our key commercial regions. Specifically, steel output in Europe declined 7% in 20 3 as the ongoing slowdown in industrial production, subdued market demand and high energy costs continued to weigh on steel production. In the Americas, steel production was down 3% in 2023, despite output in the U. S, the largest steel producer in that region being flat year over year. Speaker 300:11:04As we move through the early part of 2024, we believe that a significant amount of global economic uncertainty remains as an overhang on steel demand and production in the near term. This in turn has resulted in ongoing industry wide softness for graphite electrode demand. In addition, Recent changes in competitive dynamics are having a further impact on graphite electrode pricing. 1st, despite the weak demand environment, continue to see a healthy level of electrode exports from certain countries, including India and China into non tariff protected regions such as the Middle East. These are typically lower priced electrodes with prices continuing to decline further of late. Speaker 300:11:492nd, given these export dynamics, we continue to see a knock on pricing effect in tariff protected countries such as within the as Tier 1 competitors have continued to lower pricing in these regions to support volume. As Tim will expand on during his closing comments, We view these as transitory changes in the competitive landscape. However, these are nevertheless dynamics that we must manage in the near term. With that background, let's turn to the next slide for more details on how these factors have impacted our results and how we are responding. Our production and sales volume for the Q4 of 2023 were both approximately 24,000 metric tons. Speaker 300:12:33A key focus throughout 2023 was to proactively manage production volume to align with our evolving demand outlook We were pleased with our team's execution of this strategy. 4th quarter shipments included approximately 5,000 metric tons sold under our LTAs At a weighted average realized price of $8,500 per metric ton and 19,000 metric tons of non LTA sales at a weighted average realized price of approximately $4,800 per metric ton. This weighted average price non LTA sales represents a more than 20% year over year decline and a sequential decline from the Q3 of more than 10%, reflecting the pricing dynamics I referenced. Net sales in the Q4 of 2023 decreased 45% The ongoing shift in the mix of our business from LTA to non LTA volume was the key driver of the year over year decline with lower overall volume and pricing also contributing. For the reasons already mentioned, we expect industry wide demand for comments. Speaker 300:13:52In addition, we are being selective in the commercial opportunities we are choosing to pursue with a focus on competing responsibly. We believe that we provide a compelling value proposition to our customers and we can compete on more than just price. Our value proposition includes a strategically positioned manufacturing footprint that provides operational flexibility and reach to key steelmaking regions. Being the only large scale graphite electrode producer that is substantially vertically integrated into petroleum needle coke, offering access to the architect furnace productivity system and customer technical services at no incremental cost to the customer and a focus on continually expanding our commercial and product offerings. For example, we remain on track to add 800 millimeter supersized electrodes to our portfolio by the end of 2024 to serve a small but growing segment of the UHP graphite electrode market. Speaker 300:14:53As always, we remain relentlessly committed to producing the highest quality graphite electrodes and meeting the needs of our now and in the future. Let me now turn it over to Catherine to cover the rest of our financial details. Speaker 400:15:06Thank you, Jeremy, and good morning to all. Had a net loss of $217,000,000 or $0.85 per share. This included a goodwill impairment charge of CAD171 1,000,000 and a lower cost to market inventory valuation adjustment of $12,000,000 Both of these non cash charges reflect the near term industry wide dynamics we have spoken to, soft graphite electrode demand, weak pricing, both coinciding with higher cost inventory remaining on our balance sheet. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $22,000,000 in the 4th quarter compared to positive adjusted EBITDA of $80,000,000 in the 4th quarter of 2022. The decline in EBITDA reflected, 1st, the continued shift in the mix of our business towards non LPA volume 2nd, lower pricing 3rd, lower sales volume and 4th, the impact of the lower cost of market adjustment. Speaker 400:16:18Also contributing to the decline in adjusted EBITDA was higher year over year cost on a per metric ton basis. However, we did see a sequential improvement in this metric from the 3rd quarter as we anticipated. As shown in the reconciliation provided in our earnings materials posted on our website, our cash COGS per metric tonne declined approximately 7% from the Q3 of 2023 to the Q4. The key driver of this improvement was a quarter over quarter reduction in the level of fixed costs that are being recognized on an accelerated basis due to low production volumes. In other words, These are costs recognized in the current period that would have been inventoried if we were operating at normal production levels. Speaker 400:17:07As a reminder, in the Q3, we recorded approximately $18,000,000 of such costs, approximately half of which was attributable to Seadrift being temporarily idled through the Q3. In the 4th quarter, Needle coke production at Seadrift resumed. This along with the modest increase in graphite electrode production resulted in the amount of such costs recognized in the 4th quarter declining to approximately $10,000,000 Now as it relates to 2024, we anticipate a low teen percentage point decline in our cash COGS per metric compared to the full year cash COGS per metric ton of 2023. In addition to the timing impact of the lower cost or market valuation adjustment that we recorded in the Q4 of 2023, we expect the decline in cash COGS into 2024 to be driven by 3 factors. 1st, the impact of the cost rationalization activities that Tim discussed. Speaker 400:18:13Of the estimated $25,000,000 in annualized cost savings once fully implemented by the end of the second quarter, We expect approximately $15,000,000 of the annualized savings will be reflected as reduced fixed manufacturing costs. 2nd, market pricing for key elements of our cost structure including Deakin Oil, Energy and Coal Tar Pitch continues to moderate as expected. 3rd, we expect a modest year over year improvement in our sales and production volume in 2024, which would have a 2 pronged impact on our cash COGS per metric ton. The anticipated increase in our production volume and capacity utilization rates, this will significantly reduce the amount of fixed costs being recognized on an accelerated basis. In addition, our fixed costs will be recognized over a larger volume base compared to the prior year. Speaker 400:19:17Turning to cash flow. For the Q4 of 2023, we generated $9,000,000 of cash from operating activities and adjusted free cash flow of $4,000,000 This cash flow performance was supported by our ongoing focus on managing our costs, managing our capital expenditures as well as our working capital levels, including another significant reduction in inventory during the quarter. I'm pleased to note that with our disciplined efforts in this area throughout 2023, this resulted in GrafTech being free cash flow positive for the year. Moving to the next slide. We ended the year with a liquidity position of $289,000,000 consisting of $170,000,000 of available cash and $112,000,000 available under our revolving credit facility. Speaker 400:20:14This reflects the financial covenants that limit borrowing availability under our revolver in certain circumstances. More importantly, we do not anticipate the need to borrow against the revolver in 2024. And further, we have no debt maturities until the end of 2028. Now let me turn the call back over to Tim for some additional comments on our outlook. Speaker 200:20:42Thanks, Catherine. Thus far, we've discussed the current environment and how we are responding. Let me spend the last few minutes of our prepared remarks by looking further ahead beyond the near term challenges. To reiterate one of my opening comments, our optimism about the long term prospects for our company remains intact. We operate in a cyclical industry, which necessitates making tough decisions at times as we manage the things within our control. Speaker 200:21:09As a company and a management team, we've been here before and the actions that we announced today have been designed to preserve our flexibility to capitalize on future recovery in the market, and we expect the market to recover. Why do we remain confident? While cyclical, we also operate in an industry with significant long term tailwinds. Decarbonization efforts are driving a transition in steel With electric arc furnaces continuing to increase share of total steel production, the EAF method of steelmaking now accounts for nearly half of global steel production outside of China and an increase from 44% in 2015 with market share growth in nearly every region. And this trend of EAF share growth is expected to continue. Speaker 200:21:58In fact, we continue to see examples of is providing incentives to companies to help fund investments in new EAF capacity. This ongoing transition towards EAF steelmaking is expected to drive demand growth for graphite electrodes over the longer term. Overall, considering planned EAF capacity additions based on steel producer announcements, Along with production increases at existing EAF plants, we estimate that this would translate to global graphite electrode demand outside of China growing at a 3% to 4% CAGR over the next 5 years. While we've seen a change in the competitive dynamics of late as Jeremy indicated, This isn't entirely unexpected at this point in the cycle. We view these as being largely transitory and we are well position to benefit from the long term demand growth for graphite electrodes. Speaker 200:22:50To note a few reasons, first as prior cycles have demonstrated, the anticipated graphite electrode demand in coming years will help ease the current competitive pricing pressures. As a historical reference point, Over the last 20 years, the selling price for our non LTA volume has averaged approximately $6,000 per metric ton adjusted for inflation, which is significantly above current market prices. 2nd, anticipated demand growth for petroleum needle coke, The raw material that we use to produce graphite electrodes will also present a pricing tailwind. To expand on this point, needle coke demand is expected to accelerate driven by its use to produce synthetic graphite for the anode portion of lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicle market. Growing demand for needle coke should result in elevated needle coke pricing. Speaker 200:23:44Given the high historical correlation between petroleum needle coke pricing and graphite electrode pricing with an inflation adjusted spread that has averaged approximately $3,900 metric ton over the last 20 years, this trend should translate to higher market pricing for electrodes. 3rd and specific to competition with Chinese graphite producers, we continue to view their opportunity for competitive inroads in our key markets to be limited over the longer term. The imposition of customs duties and other tariff protections in key EAF steelmaking regions including the U. S. And the EU have served to limit the level of imports from China into these imports from China into these regions. Speaker 200:24:25Further, a quality gap still exists between Chinese electrodes and Tier 1 producers, which will become increasingly evident as new EAFs with more demanding applications come online in the coming years. As it relates to China's domestic graphite electrode demand, the country produces approximately 1,000,000,000 tons of 1,000,000,000 metric tons of steel on an annual basis with approximately 90% still produced using the traditional method of steel making. With even a relatively small percentage shift in the output to the more environmentally friendly EAF model, This would absorb a significant level of domestic graphite electrode production, thereby decreasing incentives for them to explore the export markets. Lastly, and specific to GrafTech, for all the reasons that Jeremy referenced, we provide a compelling value proposition to our customers and can compete on more than just price. As such, we continue to believe that GrafTech will get through this challenging period, Emerge as an industry leader and the preeminent supplier of mission critical products to the electric arc furnace industry. Speaker 200:25:31Before concluding our prepared remarks, let me transition to a brief update on our efforts towards participation in the development of a Western EV battery supply chain. We continue to see potential long term value creation opportunities in this space as we possess key assets, resources and know how to support this industry. Our activities continue to advance in both the areas we have spoken to previously. 1st, leveraging our assets and technical know how in the area of petroleum needle coke production given the expected demand growth for this key raw material. 2nd, leveraging our graphitization resources and expertise to produce synthetic graphite material for battery anodes. Speaker 200:26:13We remain excited about the opportunity and look forward to sharing more as we can. In closing, We remain optimistic about the long term outlook for our business and our ability to deliver shareholder value. We are an industry leading provider of a consumable product that is critical for the growing electric arc furnace method of steel making. We possess a distinct set of assets, capabilities and competitive advantages. Lastly, as a result of our disciplined capital allocation strategy, we have ample liquidity to navigate the near term. Speaker 200:26:47This concludes our prepared remarks. We'll now open the call for questions. Operator00:26:53Thank you. Your first question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:27:28Yes, good morning and thanks for taking my question. So I appreciate all the color on the steps that you're taking to navigate this market. I was hoping maybe we could just try to frame this. You provided some color on expectations around cash costs down Low teens, if I do some rough math that kind of seems to get you into the high 4,000s maybe 4,800 that kind of matches the current spot price or the non LTA realized price you had in the Q4, that just very rough lead you to a neutral or 0 EBITDA kind of environment. Is that sort of what you guys are picturing for 2024 as you navigate sort of cash costs and realized pricing kind of being in the same ballpark? Speaker 200:28:19Yes, Matt. Thanks for the question and I appreciate it. And certainly, I think, if you apply the current spot price here at the end of the 4th quarter and do the math the way you do, I think that's what it would suggest. But I would also just remind you that, that cost guidance also reflects the fact that while we've said that we're going to improve or slightly increase sales volume year over year. We still expect to be running at a utilization rate kind of well below normalized capacity. Speaker 200:28:48So we still think there's room for cost to come down as we move through. As volumes pick up, we expect the cost to navigate down towards the lower 4,000 range over time. But in the current environment, at spot pricing is what you that we recognized in the Q4, I think that's a fair statement. Speaker 500:29:11Okay. And then I was hoping you could just talk about working capital. Obviously, you've done a nice job managing working capital throughout 2023 to ease the actually generate cash. Just What's the working capital or inventory opportunity that you see in 2024 just as we think about liquidity and how that sort of progresses over the course of the year? Speaker 200:29:37Yes. So we took out just over $100,000,000 of inventory during the year, But we also commented we offset some of the reduction of our inventory on hand with building additional pin stock, right. So a little bit of an offset there. We think there's opportunities with the footprint optimization that we've just outlined to further reduce inventory levels, Not certainly to the order of magnitude that we've seen in 2023, but there's some opportunity to relieve some additional inventory here in 2024. That being said, as volumes pick up both on the sales and production side over the course of the year, you'll get a little bit of a negative impact on working capital. Speaker 200:30:21So net net fairly balanced from an overall working capital perspective as we go throughout the year. Speaker 500:30:27Okay. And I think we've gotten the comment or question from a lot of investors Just given the current liquidity picture, I think you've outlined some nice steps today to manage and preserve liquidity. But as you see things today, any reason to raise additional capital or borrow additional money In the context of having $290,000,000 of liquidity today? Speaker 200:30:55Yes. I mean, you said it at the end there, right? We ended the year With $177,000,000 of cash and the availability that's on the revolver, we feel good about the liquidity position and where we stand today. And really it's all in the context of the steps and what we've announced this morning with the idling of St. Mary's, The rationalization of the rest of our footprint as well as kind of the corporate and the overhead side of the business taking a hard look at that as well. Speaker 200:31:25We think all of those steps really position us well to manage the near term environment. Speaker 500:31:31Helpful. Last one for me, if I could just squeeze it in. The other conversation we have a lot is just around customer relationships and Contracting as it pertains to customers that have rolled off of those long term agreements and maybe there being some ill will or just bad taste in customers' mouths post having those long term agreements in place that were at higher prices. And I'm sure you're not going to provide specifics on conversations, but any commentary or feel or body language you can give us around like is that a persistent problem? Are you making progress in sort of bridging that gap with customers. Speaker 500:32:15You talked about the long term opportunity here, which seems pretty positive, assuming you can sort of get customers back in your good graces. So just any color or thoughts on that would be really helpful. Thanks. Speaker 200:32:29Yes, Matt. Good question. And no, we're not going to comment on any particular customer interactions or relationships. But I would say, we went into the 24 negotiation process, which continues, It's ongoing throughout the year with a pretty difficult macro backdrop that we've talked to. And I think we're pretty pleased with the way that it's played out In terms of the level of engagement with customers both in the Americas as well as in Europe and the rest of the world for that matter. Speaker 200:33:00So Generally speaking, very pleased with where our customer relationships stand. And we're going to continue to focus On those customers where they value the long term relationship and the value proposition that we bring to the table, It's the technical services, it's the continuous furnace monitoring that we offer. Those customers that value that are the customers that we build these relationships with and we're having the most success with. We're pleased with where our customers stand at the moment. Speaker 500:33:34Okay, great. Thanks for the time. I appreciate it. Speaker 200:33:37Yes. Thank you. Operator00:33:40Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Bill Peterson from JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Yes, Speaker 600:33:47hi. Good morning. Speaker 200:33:48Good morning, Bill. Speaker 600:33:49Thanks for taking the questions. Yes, thanks. I guess, how should we think about the shape of shipment as you see it today as we think about throughout 2024? I'm asking in the context of one of your Tier 1 peers. No, they provided some sort of sales outlook and expect the first half of twenty twenty four to decline versus the second half of twenty twenty three, It also declined again in the second half of 'twenty four relative to the first half. Speaker 600:34:14And I'm not really sure what their assumptions are around pricing, but it seemed to indicate there's no expectation of improvement at least from a shipment profile in the back half of the year. So just kind of Speaker 300:34:22wanted to get a view Speaker 600:34:23on how you're thinking about that? Speaker 200:34:26Yes, it's really tough to comment on somebody else's shipping patterns and the way they've contracted and the way that they manage Kind of their customer relationships or how they do that. I think as we look out into 'twenty four, as we've commented without providing Specific numbers, we do anticipate an increase, modest increase in sales volume next year. We'd expect sales to be in line Q1 from where we did in Q4 and then in the year we'll progress from there. I think as we look out longer as we head into 2025, we are anticipating volumes to continue to pick up and some market recovery. Speaker 600:35:08Okay. Thanks for that. And I guess from your vantage How are peers in the industry responding in terms of supply? It appears directionally that a few of the peers are in fact reducing output, But also have higher utilization than GrafTech. So I guess what is the risk to your share or maybe continued pricing environment, given that your peers are not really trimming capacity, it doesn't appear to be trimming capacity as much as you are. Speaker 200:35:38Yes. I mean, I think we again are focused on taking the steps that we believe are right for GrafTech as a business that will not only position us best from a cost perspective, utilize our most efficient assets in the near term, but also allow us to continue to deliver electrodes to our customers in all regions. And we think the plans that we've laid out allow us to do that. Absent of what our competitors are doing and what their drivers are in terms of their own respective business. But right now, I would generally say everybody's Probably operating at less than optimal utilization levels and we're no different. Speaker 600:36:21Okay. And it sounds like you're comfortable with your cash position for the year, but I guess if demand in shipments were, I guess, to take another leg down or declined significantly. Are you evaluating are there other liquidity alternatives such as asset sales, maybe secured debt issuance or anything else that could be on the table, should things actually progress worse? Just trying to get a sense of what alternatives you have. Speaker 200:36:46Yes. I mean, there's always the risk that the market continues to move sideways or down further. At this point in time, we have a fair portion of our order book lock for the year, just given the negotiation process that we just went through. And that certainly is something that we took into account as we looked at the cost rationalization and footprint optimization program that we just went through. So again, we feel good about the steps we're taking and how it positions us this year. Speaker 200:37:19And The world will play out as the world plays out going forward. Speaker 600:37:26Okay. Well, thanks for that. I'll leave it there and take it offline, but good luck with Navigating the environment here. Speaker 200:37:35Thanks, Bill. Operator00:37:38Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Alex Hacking from Citi. Please proceed. Speaker 700:37:46Yes, good morning. I apologize if I missed this, but could you provide any color on the pricing outlook for The first half of this year? Thanks. Speaker 200:37:58Yes, Alex. Thanks and appreciate you joining the call. We haven't provided any outlook for the pricing environment and frankly, there's no benefit to us in terms of getting into around where pricing is. You can look at pricing, what we reported for the Q4 and use that if you want. Speaker 700:38:18Okay. Thanks. And then I guess regarding India and China exports, Yes, I think as you mentioned, Chinese steel production was probably up a little bit last year. Indian steel production was up strongly last year. Yes, they seem to be exporting more graphite electrodes. Speaker 700:38:40Do you have any color on what's happened So capacity adds there, I guess what's driving the increase in exports from those regions? Thanks. Speaker 200:38:52Yes. So I think our commentary about exports was on the steel side. And I think Chinese graphite electrode exports are Maybe introducing some pricing pressures in the market, which we talked a little bit about in the Q3. But year over year, Chinese Electrode exports are actually down, kind of a double digit percentage. Indian exports, Again, maybe up slightly year over year, but on a scale, they're a fraction of what the Chinese export market looks like. Speaker 200:39:25So net net, I don't think there's that much more material being put into the export market, but I think the pricing has been more aggressive, certainly. Speaker 700:39:36Okay, thanks. So I guess you haven't lost market share to India and Chinese material last In fact, if anything, you would have gained share against that if exports were down? Speaker 200:39:50No, I mean Is it fair? I don't know if that's the way I would look at it. There are certain areas In the non tariff protected regions where you see more activity from those players in those markets that we otherwise would not want to sell into, and we would otherwise put material into our core markets of the U. S. And the EU. Speaker 700:40:18Okay, thanks. And then I guess just finally, any comments around your market share In the U. S. Market in particular, I think it's the most attractive market for electrodes. We know that you potentially lost some market share beginning of last year given the Monterey issues. Speaker 700:40:39So any update on your U. S. Market share? Thanks. Speaker 200:40:44Yes. And I think we commented in the Q3 on this in particular about how the first step for us was to be able to go into The Q4 negotiation window with all of our customers, not just those customers in the U. S, with the ability to commit to volumes the full year and we've done that. And as I said earlier in one of my responses to a question, we're very pleased with the way Those negotiations went and the volumes that we were allocated from all of our customers. And we don't necessarily give specifics in terms of market share, but again, the Americas is a substantial part of our business and we'll continue to be going forward. Speaker 800:41:29Okay. Thank you. Operator00:41:34Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Arun Viswanathan from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 900:41:44Great. Thanks for taking my question. I guess, first question would be, You noted that there is a significant cost per ton reduction. I understand the footprint optimization will help in that. But what kind of utilization rates should we think about as you move through the year? Speaker 900:42:06On our math, it would seem that you'd need to get into the 70s or 80s in order to get those that cost per ton down into the $4,500 or $5,000 per ton range, is that required? And I know that you're shutting down St. Mary's, but Are there greater actions you can take? I mean running at 47%, it would imply that there's 50% or so of your capacity that's It's really not being utilized. Would you consider shutting down maybe some of the other plants like Pamplona or Cali or Maybe you can just walk us through that. Speaker 200:42:45Yes. Thanks, Arun. And kind of a lot in that question, so if I miss a part, please let me know. I guess first question with respect to your question on cost and how we get to levels below kind of what we're otherwise guiding to. And remember, that's not all going to come on the back of fixed cost leverage or fixed cost reductions, right? Speaker 200:43:09Fixed costs represent roughly 25% or so of our overall cost structure. Any increase in utilization will improve the cost structure, but we do anticipate further improvement from the price of needle coke, as well as our other variable costs, right? So we're seeing kind of favorable trends in the market for all of those and those will continue to benefit us going forward, particularly in terms of energy prices in Europe. In terms of I think your second part of the question was around, would we shut another plant down? Again, the actions we've taken today with St. Speaker 200:43:53Mary's and our corporate overhead is predicated on our view of the world and our Understanding of our business and market and don't necessarily, let me say it this way. We think we've taken the steps needed to be successful to navigate through this trough and get to the other side when we anticipate the market picking back up. You know, us running our plants in Europe and in Monterey are important in our ability to deliver all of the products and make deliver on our commitments to our customers, but as well as being able to otherwise capitalize when the market picks up longer term, which again, and we've said it a few times, We firmly believe that the market will pick up as we move forward, both because of the decarbonization of steel as well as the demand for needle coke through the EV market. So, we're going to continue to run those assets, but we're going to run them as efficiently as we can. Speaker 300:44:57Anything else Speaker 900:44:58for you? Sorry about that. I was on mute. Just one other question. Just could you elaborate on your plans to pursue commercialization of your needle coke into the EV market. Speaker 900:45:08Is there any support you can get from IRA or any other strategic initiatives there? Speaker 200:45:17Thanks, Arun. I'll let Jeremy take that one. Speaker 300:45:20Yes, Arun, so a couple of things there. First of all, you'll recall that as we previously noted In July, we did file a permit application to significantly expand the capacity of production At Seadrift, excuse me, and at the time we said that we would be able to if we went forward with the project, We would have the ability to increase the 140,000 ton nameplate capacity by about 40 percent through a combination of calcined and pre calcined needle coke. And so at the time we said that We would anticipate that process taking about a year and we don't have any reason to think that will be any longer or shorter than that at this point. So continuing we're continuing down that path. In terms of actually commercializing and engaging with potential customers, we continue down that path both from a needle coke as well as a graphitization perspective, we have done trials with several customers And I would say that the pace of activity there is increasing. Speaker 300:46:34And so we feel good about where we're at, but nothing to announce at this point. Speaker 900:46:41Great. And then just lastly, just wanted to ask again on that issue of potential Electrod substitutes are competition from Chinese and Indian electrodes. Presumably, during the shutdown of Monterey, there was some potential of your customers maybe source selections from other suppliers. What's the strategy to kind of get back that Those volumes, I know you said that there's a value proposition and service that you provide, but it would Peer that just given the pricing environment that price would be the main lever to try and get back some of that share. Maybe you can just elaborate on some of the other services that you think would be helpful in regaining that share? Speaker 900:47:32Thanks. Speaker 200:47:34Yes, Arun, I mean, I think ultimately like any commercial relationship, right, It's the relationship and it's providing a compelling value proposition, not only through a quality product, which again, we think Our electrodes are the best in the world in terms of quality, but it's also what else you offer your customers and how they view you, as well. And I think it's important to remember that especially in the U. S. Market, in particular, price isn't always the bottom line in terms of determination, just given the fact that the U. S. Speaker 200:48:07Mills are still running at very healthy utilization rates, any sort of quality issues or breakage or interruption to their into their furnaces ultimately cost them money. So, they're going to continue to air on the side of producing quality electrodes and that's what we remain focused on. Speaker 900:48:27Great. Thanks a lot. Speaker 200:48:29Thank you. Operator00:48:31Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Kirkland Key from Imperial Capital. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:48:38Hello, everyone. Thank you for the call. Just a few follow ups, if I may. On the competitive landscape, I completely recognize it's not all about price and cost can be a moving target, but where do you think your 3 plants are on the cost curve? Maybe just which quartile do you think they are Speaker 200:49:00Sorry, go ahead. Sorry. I thought you had a further question or more to that. Yes, again, we don't necessarily break our plants Separately, we look at the overall manufacturing footprint as kind of a global network, and we think we're very cost competitive. Where exactly on the cost curve? Speaker 200:49:25I won't speculate, but we think we're well positioned from a cost perspective. And certainly, as we continue to drive up our utilization at the plants, that just makes those plants even more competitive given their overall size and scale. Speaker 800:49:40Got it. Thank you. And with respect to competitors idling electrode capacity, can you expand on that? Do you have any estimates of what might be happening on that front? Speaker 200:49:55I can't comment on what our competitors are doing. It would just be pure speculation. But if they want to idle capacity, I'm okay with that. Speaker 800:50:03Okay, great. Thanks. Last call you mentioned that China was limiting the export of synthetic graphite. Is Any comments on that front? Speaker 300:50:17Yes. So I think the Specific comment had to do with synthetic graphite for use in anode materials and Kind of a recognition of the value of synthetic graphite as we start seeing further electrification of the fleet. And so that continues to be the case, perhaps Restricting or at least they're at least requiring licenses from the producers before they're allowed to export that material. Speaker 200:50:54It's not Speaker 300:50:57something that we've got direct experience with, but we do know that that is a key driver potential exports from there and kind of a recognition of the importance of synthetic graphite in the overall electric vehicle supply chain. Speaker 800:51:14Great. Thank you. And on Cedar, how much would a 40% increase in capacity cost? Speaker 200:51:21Yes. So we haven't provided a specific number, but what we've guided to in the past is that a full replication of Seadrift would be north of $750,000,000 and the replication or the addition of that 40% isn't linear, right? It's not 40% of 7 We can do it much more efficient than that. So, yes. Speaker 800:51:42Got it. Super helpful. Last one, the order book, how much have you sold For fiscal 'twenty four, how much volume? Speaker 200:51:50Yes. So we're we haven't provided exact numbers in terms of what total volume we expect for the full year, but we're well over 50% committed at this point heading into the Q1. Speaker 800:52:08For the full year? Speaker 200:52:10For the full year. Speaker 800:52:11Great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Speaker 500:52:16Thanks. Operator00:52:17Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Curt Woodworth from UBS. Please go ahead. Speaker 1000:52:26Good morning. Hi, Tim. So just wanted to follow-up on Speaker 300:52:33So in terms of cracking the code around Speaker 1000:52:37sort of the EV anode Market, right. So you had PSX that signed some deals with Bivonix on the Coke side. You've got A lot of the EV anode development underway. And so on the one hand, you have competitive advantage on the petroleum coke going into synthetic and then you also have capability just on the pure equipment, machining, material process side the business. So I guess the question is, what where do you think the value in use is most compelling in your portfolio? Speaker 1000:53:14Do you think it's more processing or on the coke side? And then how should we think about like next steps? Is it more likely that you would partner with someone to potentially expand Speed Drift or You have excess machining capacity that could be utilized to make synthetic. It's hard for us to really frame kind of the relative economics and I know that it's early stages, but anything you could help us think about would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Speaker 200:53:53Yes. So let me start and then Jeremy, I'll ask to chime in as well. And the two areas that I commented on in particular where we see the opportunity as it relates to us is utilization of our graphitization assets as well as our expertise and Seadrift as a facility, Whether as it is constructed today or if we were to pursue an expansion, both of those are pretty compelling because Both sets of assets are really dual use assets, right? The process for graphitizing anode material isn't really any different than the process for creating electrodes that we do and have been doing for decades decades. So really it's an opportunity for us to not only maximize our utilization of our assets, but also there's an arbitrage opportunity to go after the markets have the best margin longer term. Speaker 200:54:50In the short run, right, there's really no benefit or upside in 2024, right? These are all kind of longer term opportunities in place for us, but still are certainly exciting ventures as we head out. The way we think about it from a balance sheet perspective and what the construct looks like, there's a dozen different ways This could play out or more than a dozen different ways that this could play out. But certainly given kind of the challenging environment right now, We wouldn't do this on our own in most cases, right? Given the capital outlay or any sort of significant expansion of At Seadrift, we wouldn't be in a position nor would we wanted to take on that cost on our own. Speaker 200:55:32Jeremy, I don't know if you want to add to that? Speaker 300:55:35Yes, I think you've hit the key points, Tim. This is an opportunity that will be comparatively small in the near term 2024 and as we accelerate through 2025 and into later the latter part of the decade is really when we see the Western supply chains developing and are seeking to be a participant. Speaker 1000:56:02Okay. And then in terms of needle coke in the past, you've commented on 3rd party pricing data that you have. Speaker 300:56:11Can you give us a sense for Speaker 1000:56:12where you think needle coke is at? And then I know you're hesitant to provide any Commentary on pricing for electrodes, but directionally speaking, order of magnitude, should think that your 1Q non LPA price will fall similarly in fashion as the last Q on Q or Any comments would be helpful. Thanks guys. Speaker 200:56:39Yes. So let me start on the electrode side and then I'll let Jeremy comment on needle coke. Yes, we're not going to provide kind of any sort of specific outlook, whether directional or not, beyond the macro kind of commentary we've provided, right? We're still negotiating orders on a daily basis and it doesn't benefit us to signal where we think those prices are going to go. Speaker 300:57:01Yes. And if we look at needle coke, we did see some further softening of the needle coke market. Again, we rely on some import export data to tell us where the market's trading and that does tend to lag by a couple of months. But We did see 4th quarter spot pricing for needle coke in the $1,000 to $1300 range, which was a further decline from where we were in the Q3. But this is something that is a very Highly volatile market. Speaker 300:57:36We can see in the recent past prices as high as $3,000 a tonne in 2022, when in fact they were closer to $1,000 the year before that. So We're it's pretty volatile. We still believe in the long term trends on needle coke, but really the softness right now I think is a reflection of the soft graphite electrode market without an offset in the form of the expanding Western EV supply chains yet. Speaker 1000:58:07And would your captive cost at Seadrift be below 1,000? Speaker 200:58:17Yes. So again, we haven't historically given a lot of detail on Ctrip because we do see it as a competitive advantage for us. Even in this sort of needle coke market given the quality of the Seadrift needle coke, It is still cost competitive in this market. Speaker 1000:58:35Okay. Thank you very much. Thanks. Operator00:58:41Thank you. Our last question comes from the line of Abhilanda from Bank of America. Please go ahead. Speaker 1100:58:51Good morning. Thanks for squeezing me in. Just a few questions for me. Kind of want to maybe touch on the regional differences, what you're seeing in kind of on the outlook side, primarily different between U. S. Speaker 1100:59:02And Europe. Like, I guess, what are you seeing in terms of competition differences between those two areas? Maybe how it relates to what you're seeing graphite electrode pricing there? And kind of maybe a sense of your capacity utilization by the regions? Thanks. Speaker 200:59:20Yes. Thanks, Abe. And in terms of the outlook by region, again, it really follows the Growth story more broadly, right? The U. S. Speaker 200:59:29Has remained to be a fairly healthy market for us. Utilization rates continue to be in the mid-70s. Europe is A market that is certainly more challenged from an economic standpoint. I think capacity utilization in Europe ended the year in the or 53% range. So thereby you can kind of deduce Kind of the overall quality or intensity of those markets. Speaker 201:00:02In terms of other competition, we do have tariff protections in the U. S. And in Europe. U. S, there's tariffs in place against Chinese imports and in Europe, it's both the Indian and Chinese imports. Speaker 201:00:16So Yes, the markets are kind of where they're at. Again, capacity utilization, we look at our network Certainly have and will continue to going forward as a global manufacturing footprint. And so we won't provide kind of capacity utilization by plant. I don't think it's really relevant in terms of how we look at our business. Speaker 1101:00:44Is that non Tier 1 competition kind of Different in Europe versus the U. S. Or the intensity of it and its impact on pricing, do you notice any differences or not really? Speaker 201:01:01No, I mean, you don't see much of a presence in Europe of either the Chinese or the Indians, right? It's Your Tier 1 players are the ones that are for the most part the incumbents in that market. You do see a small Indian presence in the U. S, but I don't know if I would say that the intensity is any different, right? Speaker 1101:01:26Got it. And then kind of on your cost rationalization and footprint Plan, you kind of mentioned this the third point, the operating at reduced levels. And I think you kind of mentioned taking your from 202 to 178 tons. Can you just walk us through that? How you're thinking about implementing that and how we expect that to trend kind of over the year? Speaker 201:01:56Yes. So really there's 3 things there. One is the idling of St. Mary's, right? So we're taking down most of the production activities at our St. Speaker 201:02:07Mary's location. We also looked at all of our assets across the, again, our entire footprint of assets and said, which are the ones that are efficient and how can we best optimize utilization of our assets. So there's another subset of assets in the other plants that we're continuing to run that will stop running and won't otherwise consider those as part of our productive capacity. The combination of those two things and The remaining footprint is what will inform the 178,000 metric ton capacity that will measure our utilization against going forward. With respect to the commentary around matching our production of our Operating footprint relative to commercial demand, again, it's the 178,000 tons that are part of our capacity. Speaker 201:03:02We will scale our production to our demand, right? We need to be conscious of our working capital where we want to run as efficiently as possible. We'll continue to operate much like we've done here in 'twenty three where we've scaled back operations at various points in time to ensure that we're in alignment with overall demand. Speaker 1101:03:22So it seems like you potentially have some room to maybe idle certain assets longer to kind of better match it, if for some reason the market takes a further downturn. Is that the right way to maybe look at it? Speaker 201:03:35Yes, I mean, again, I would say that we're we vital the assets that we think best position us to navigate Our view on the market as it exists today and as we look out forward, certainly we can slow down other assets at various points in time during the year. But again, we want to have those assets ready and in a position to begin production or continue production as the market recovers and as we look out over the long term. Speaker 1101:04:05And my last one, it's kind of a follow-up to some previous questions. When you think about your liquidity, especially on the cash side, is there like a minimum operating cash number that you'd be comfortable operating at? Speaker 201:04:19Yes, I mean, I think we've said in the past, dollars 50,000,000 just from an operational standpoint is a very Effective or easy number for us to manage the business on. But I think just overall liquidity, we're sitting in a very healthy liquidity position as we look out into 2024. Speaker 1101:04:39That's it for me. Thank you very much. Speaker 201:04:42Thanks a lot. Operator01:04:45Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. I will now hand the call back Speaker 201:05:00We look forward to speaking with everyone next quarter. Have a great day.Read morePowered by