LUXEMBOURG — (Marketwired) — 11/05/14 — Tenaris S.A. (NYSE: TS) (BAE: TS) (BMV: TS) (MILAN: TEN) (“Tenaris”) today announced its results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2014 with comparison to its results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2013.
(Comparison with second quarter of 2014 and third quarter of 2013)
*EBITDA is defined as operating income plus depreciation, amortization and impairment charges/(reversals).
Sales declined by 9% sequentially, in spite of a solid increase in North America, as they were affected by lower sales in Saudi Arabia and a slowdown in shipments to deepwater projects in sub-Saharan Africa as well as lower sales across Europe. Margins were affected by an unfavorable product mix with a low volume of premium OCTG sales, in addition to the seasonal impact of Northern Hemisphere plant stoppages.
Operating cash flow continues at a high level. Free cash flow amounted to $357 million for the quarter despite a substantial increase in capital expenditures, relating to progress in the construction of our new mill in Bay City. Our net cash position rose to $1.6 billion at September 30, 2014.
Our board of directors approved the payment of an interim dividend of $0.15 per share ($0.30 per ADS), or approximately $177 million. The payment date will be November 27, 2014 (however, because such date is not a business day in the U.S., shareholders in all jurisdictions may receive their interim dividend on or after November 28, 2014, which is the first business day following the stated payment date), and the ex-dividend date will be November 24, 2014.
The impact of the fall in oil prices over the past three months on drilling activity and OCTG demand for 2015 is still unclear. However, if oil prices maintain their current levels or drop further, we expect that lower operator cash flows and less favorable project economics will lead to a reduction in drilling activity in more marginal North American onshore plays. In the rest of the world, lower oil and gas prices may further delay the implementation of offshore and other complex projects.
In spite of the adverse oil and gas price environment, our sales in the coming quarters should benefit from the recent US trade case ruling on unfair OCTG imports, pursuant to which we expect to see the effects of a better pricing environment and a reduction in imports from the subject countries. In addition, our sales in South America should benefit from a recovery in shipments for pipeline projects in Brazil and Argentina.
Therefore, we expect our EBITDA margin to recover from the level of this third quarter to reach a level of around 26% for the full year. Looking ahead, our positioning in Argentina and Mexico should provide additional support for our results and compensate for a possible lower level of activity in the rest of the world.
Net sales of tubular products and services decreased 9% sequentially and remained stable year on year. North American sales increased due to the usual seasonal recovery in Canada, together with higher sales in the USA and Mexico. In South America, despite a gradual increase in Argentina, sales continue to be affected by a low level of sales in Brazil and Venezuela. In Europe sales declined reflecting lower OCTG sales in the North Sea, Russia and Turkey as well as lower sales of mechanical products. In the Middle East and Africa sales decreased mainly due to lower shipments of premium pipes in Saudi Arabia and sub-Saharan Africa. In the Far East & Oceania sales decreased due to reduced shipments in Indonesia.
Operating income from tubular products and services, decreased 22% sequentially and 4% compared to the previous year. Sequentially, the decline in operating income was mainly due to the decline in sales and a lower operating margin associated with a less favorable mix of OCTG products with lower sales in the Middle East and Africa.
Net sales of other products and services decreased 6% sequentially and increased 5%year on year. The sequential decline in sales was mainly due to lower sales of sucker rods and pipes for electric conduits in the USA. Despite the sequential decline in sales, operating income increased 44% due to a general improvement in the different businesses– operating margins.
, or SG&A, amounted to $480 million, or 19.8% of net sales in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $518 million, 19.5% in the previous quarter and $439 million, 18.2% in the third quarter of 2013. The sequential decline in SG&A expenses was mainly due to lower selling expenses associated with lower shipment volumes, reduction in administrative expenses and a recovery of certain provisions for doubtful accounts.
amounted to a loss of $4 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared to zero in the previous quarter and a loss of $17 million in the third quarter of 2013.
generated a gain of $10 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared to a gain of $14 million in the previous quarter and a gain of $10 million in the third quarter of 2013. These results were mainly derived from our equity investment in Ternium (NYSE: TX).
totalled $117 million in the third quarter of 2014, equivalent to 27.1% of income before equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies and income tax, compared to 26.2% in the previous quarter and 31.9% in the third quarter of 2013. In the third quarter of 2013 income tax was negatively affected by a $45 million provision, following the enactment of a 10% withholding tax in Argentina.
amounted to $6 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $12 million in the previous quarter and $14 million in the third quarter of 2013. These results were mainly attributable to non-controlling interests at our Japanese subsidiary NKKTubes.
Net cash provided by operations during the third quarter of 2014 was $659 million, compared to $566 million in the previous quarter and $751 million in the third quarter of 2013. Working capital decreased by $235 million during the third quarter of 2014, compared to $17 million in the previous quarter and $239 million in the third quarter of 2013. The decrease in working capital in the third quarter of 2014, was mainly due to a decrease in trade receivables following the quarter seasonality.
Capital expenditures amounted to $302 million in the third quarter of 2014, a record level mainly associated with the construction of the new greenfield seamless mill in Bay City, Texas.
Despite the increase in capital expenditures, our net cash (cash and other current investments less total borrowings) increased to $1.6 billion, at the end of the third quarter of 2014, from $1.3 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
*EBITDA is defined as operating income plus depreciation, amortization and impairment charges/(reversals).
Net sales of tubular products and services decreased 3% to $7,085 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared to $7,333 million in the first nine months of 2013, reflecting a 2% decrease in volumes and a 1% decrease in average selling prices.
Operating income from tubular products and services remained stable at $1,516 million in the first nine months of 2014 and $1,512 million in the first nine months of 2013. Despite the reduction in sales, operating income remained stable due to an increase of 80 basis points in the operating margin related to a higher proportion of seamless pipes in the mix of products sold.
Net sales of other products and services decreased 2% to $576 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared to $590 million in the first nine months of 2013, while operating income declined 61% reflecting lower margins particularly at our industrial equipment business in Brazil.
amounted to $1,487 million, or 19.4% of net sales during the first nine months of 2014, compared to $1,444 million, or 18.2% in the same period of 2013. The percentage increase in SG&A was mainly due to a higher proportion of seamless pipes in the mix of products sold, which tend to have higher logistic costs than welded pipes sold mostly domestically.
were a gain of $39 million in the first nine months of 2014 compared to loss of $37 million in the same period of 2013. The improvement was due to lower net financial costs following the increase in our net cash position and a gain on foreign exchange results due to the positive impact from the Argentine peso devaluation.
generated a gain of $43 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared to a gain of $34 million in the first nine months of 2013. These gains were derived mainly from our equity investment in Ternium.
totalled $460 million in the first nine months of 2014, equivalent to 29.0% of income before equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies and income tax, compared to $426 million in the first nine months of 2013, equivalent to 27.3% of income before equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies and income tax.
amounted to $23 million in the first nine months of 2014, similar to $24 million in the first nine months of 2013. These results were mainly attributable to non-controlling interests at our Japanese subsidiary NKKTubes.
During the first nine months of 2014, net cash provided by operations was $1,838 million, compared to $1,913 million in the same period of 2013. Working capital decreased by $268 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared to $312 million in the first nine months of 2013.
Capital expenditures amounted to $714 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared with $570 million in the same period of 2013. The increase is due to ongoing construction of the new greenfield seamless mill in Bay City, Texas.
During the first nine months of 2014 our net cash position increased $706 million, from $911 million at the beginning of the year to $1.6 billion at September 30, 2014.
Tenaris will hold a conference call to discuss the above reported results, on November 6, 2014, at 09:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). Following a brief summary, the conference call will be opened to questions. To access the conference call dial in +1 800 510.0146 within North America or +1 617 614.3449 Internationally. The access number is “54450039”. Please dial in 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. The conference call will be also available by webcast at .
A replay of the conference call will be available on our webpage or by phone from 01:00 pm on November 6 through 12:00 am on November 13. To access the replay by phone, please dial +1 888 286.8010 or +1 617 801.6888 and enter passcode ” 17931660″ when prompted.
Some of the statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements are based on management–s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. These risks include but are not limited to risks arising from uncertainties as to future oil and gas prices and their impact on investment programs by oil and gas companies.
Press releases and financial statements can be downloaded from Tenaris–s website at .
Giovanni Sardagna
Tenaris
1-888-300-5432