Itafos Reports Q3 2020 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
ITAFOS REPORTS Q3 2020 FINANCIAL RESULTS AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
TORONTO, ON – November 12, 2020 – Itafos (TSX-V: IFOS) (the “Company”) reported today its Q3 2020
financial results and operational highlights . The Company’s f inancial statements and management’s
discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 are available under the
Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.itafos.com. All dollar values
are in thousands of US Dollars except as otherwise noted.
“Q3 2020 was dominated by a significant disruption in sulfuric acid supply at Conda from our primary
supplier. Our team did an outstanding job to mitigate the impact by procuring additional sulfuric acid
volumes from other third party suppliers and opportunistically conducting certain maintenance activities
during times of lower throughput. These efforts, in addition to the contin ued advancement of our cost
savings initiatives and an improving outlook on phosphate fertilizer prices have allowed us to increase the
lower end of our 2020 guidance for adjusted EBITDA by $5 million,” said Dr. Mhamed Ibnabdeljalil, CEO of
Itafos.
Overall Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2020, the Company’s financial highlights were as follows:
▪ generated adjusted EBITDA of $(292) [Q3 2019: $(95)], representing largely consistent
performance year-over-year primarily due to a disruption in sulfuric acid supply from its primary
supplier at Conda, which was largely offset by cost savings following th e idling of Arraias and
implementation of aggressive corporate wide cost savings and deferral of spending initiatives;
▪ incurred net loss of $(13,788) [Q3 2019: $(20,778)], representing a 34% decrease year -over-year
primarily due to higher gross margin at C onda and Arraias and lower corporate -wide selling,
general and administrative expenses due to implementation of aggressive corporate wide cost
savings and deferral of spending initiatives;
▪ closed a $20,000 secured working capital facility at Conda with JPM organ Chase Bank, N.A. (the
“Revolving Facility”), which refinanced the $20,000 secured working capital facility at Conda with
Gavilon Fertilizer, LLC (the “Gavilon Facility”);
▪ repaid the Gavilon Facility in full in connection with closing the Revolving Facility;
▪ drew an additional $5,300 under the Company’s unsecured and subordinated promissory note (the
“CLF Promissory Note”) with an additional $5,400 remaining available to be drawn by the Company
at its sole discretion; and
▪ advanced aggressive corporate wide cost savings and deferral of spending initiatives.
For the three months ended September 30, 2020, the Company’s business highlights were as follows:
▪ continued corporate -wide risk mitigation measures to address potential impacts to employees,
contractors and operations as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID -19”) pandemic
resulting in no material impact to operations;
▪ demonstrated sustained environmental, health and safety excellence at Conda and Arraias,
including no environmental releases and one recordable injury and achievement of a notable
milestone at Arraias by exceeding one year without a recordable injury;
▪ completed a reduced scope plant turnaround at Conda during July 2020 as part of its risk mitigation
measures during the COVID-19 pandemic with no environmental releases or recordable injuries;
▪ experienced a significant disruption in sulfuric acid supply at Conda from its primary sup plier and
advanced efforts to mitigate potential adverse effects of the disruption, including procuring
additional sulfuric acid volumes from other third party suppliers and opportunistically conducting
certain maintenance activities during times of lower throughput;
▪ produced total production volumes at Conda of 97,547t [Q3 2019: 144,586t], representing a 33%
decrease year -over-year primarily due to a disruption in sulfuric acid supply from its primary
supplier;
▪ generated adjusted EBITDA at Conda of $4,259 [Q3 2019: $8,821], representing a 52% decrease
year-over-year primarily due to a disruption in sulfuric acid supply from its primary supplier;
▪ incurred net loss at Conda of $(1,757) [Q3 2019: $(2,478)], representing a 29% decrease year -
over-year primarily due to higher gross margin due to lower depreciation and depletion, which was
partially offset by a disruption in sulfuric acid supply from its primarily supplier;
▪ advanced activities related to extending Conda’s mine life through permitting and developmen t of
Husky 1/North Dry Ridge (“H1/NDR”), including advancing reclamation cap and cover alternatives
analysis and updates to the Groundwater Fate and Transport Model associated with Environmental
Impact Statement (“EIS”) requirements;
▪ advanced activities related to optimizing Conda’s EBITDA generation capability, including:
- entered into a third party tolling agreement for a proprietary micronutrient enhanced dry
product as an additional product in the new line of micronutrient enhanced dry products
and completing an initial production run,
- advanced formulation development of MAP enhanced with zinc as an additional product in
the new line of micronutrient enhanced dry products,
- advanced test work on magnesium oxide (“MgO”) reduction with the use of enhanced
grinding attrition scrubbing and flotation,
- advanced operations and cost to serve initiatives, i ncluding advancing freight cost
reduction opportunities, implementing SPA rail car fleet optimization strategy and
renegotiating pricing on key raw materials,
- launched pilot plant testing and a front-end engineering and design (“FEED”) study related
to anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and precipitated silica (“AHF/PS”) by-product recovery,
- launched a feasibility study related to on-site ammonia production and
- launched a pre-feasibility study related to sulfuric acid plant expansion and cogeneration;
▪ maintained the idling of Arraias following best practices; and
▪ advanced the stage -gate restart program at Arraias, including advancing a test work campaign
aimed at the metallurgical characterization of the Domingos ore as well as a detailed in -fill drilling
program;
For the three months ended September 30, 2020, the Company’s other highlights were as follows:
▪ maintained Farim at construction ready state while optimizing costs; and
▪ advanced the development of Farim, including advancing project financing, related per mitting and
offtake initiatives;
▪ advanced the wind down of Paris Hills, including issuing mineral lease termination letters to land
owners, following the Company’s decision to wind down the concession following completion of the
Conda Technical Report, whi ch defined H1/NDR as the Company’s path forward for mine life
extension at Conda;
▪ advanced corporate streamlining initiatives resulting in dissolution of one unutilized legacy entity;
▪ cash settled 27,154 restricted share units (“RSUs”) for $6 under the com pany’s restricted share
unit plan (the “RSU Plan”); and
▪ amended the Company’s RSU Plan to increase the maximum number of shares which may be
reserved for issuance under the Company’s RSU Plan from 14,207,030 to 18,546,282.
Subsequent Events
Subsequent to September 30, 2020, the Company received a request from the third party provider of surety
bonds that guarantee Conda’s obligations under its existing operating and environmental permits to post
collateral to cover 20% of the bonded exposure in the form of letter of credit, cash and/or indemnity. As at
September 30, 2020, the bonded exposure was $39,757. The Company is currently working with the third
party provider and its stakeholders to implement the requested collateral.
Financial Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s financial highlights were as
follows:
(unaudited in thousands of US Dollars
For the three months ended
September 30,
For the nine months ended
September 30,
except for per share amounts) 2020 2019 2020 2019
Revenues $ 47,638 $ 81,749 $ 185,110 $ 257,999
Gross margin (1,701 ) (6,416 ) (14,434 ) (13,528 )
Adjusted EBITDA (292 ) (95 ) 10,244 (295 )
Net loss (13,788 ) (20,778 ) (52,891 ) (55,706 )
Maintenance capex $ 2,719 $ 2,109 $ 6,220 $ 19,156
Growth capex 2,158 9,327 5,027 15,507
Total Capex $ 4,877 $ 11,436 $ 11,247 $ 34,663
Basic loss per share $ (0.07 ) $ (0.15 ) $ (0.29 ) $ (0.40 )
Fully diluted loss per share $ (0.07 ) $ (0.15 ) $ (0.29 ) $ (0.40 )
For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s financial highlights were
explained as follows:
▪ revenues were down year-over-year primarily due to lower production and sales volumes due to a
disruption in sulfuric acid supply from its primary supplier at Conda and the idling of Arraias;
▪ adjusted EBITDA was largely consistent year-over-year primarily due to a disruption in sulfuric acid
supply from its primary supplier at Conda , which was largely offset by cost savings following the
idling of Arraias and implementation of aggressive corporate wide cost savings and deferral of
spending initiatives;
▪ net loss was down year-over-year primarily due to higher gross margin at Conda and Arraias and
lower corporate -wide selling, general and administrative expenses due to implementation of
aggressive corporate wide cost savings and deferral of spending initiatives;
▪ maintenance capex was up year -over-year primarily due to timing of maintena nce activities
following the Company’s decision to conduct a reduced scope plant turnaround at Conda during
July 2020 as part of its risk mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
▪ growth capex was down year -over-year primarily due to timing of activities related to extending
Conda’s mine life through permitting and development of H1/NDR, reduced spend at Farim upon
reaching construction ready state and idling of Arraias.
As at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company’s financial highlights were as follows:
unaudited in thousands of US Dollars)
September 30,
2020
December 31,
2019
Total assets $ 454,135 $ 510,764
Total liabilities 362,297 368,505
Net debt 228,936 187,319
Adjusted net debt 163,159 136,900
Total equity 91,838 142,259
As at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company’s financial highlights were explained as
follows:
▪ total assets were down period -over-period primarily due to lower inventory at Conda and Arraias
and depreciation and depletion at Conda, which wa s partially offset by fixed assets additions
primarily at Conda;
▪ total liabilities were down period -over-period primarily due to lower trade and taxes payable at
Conda;
▪ net debt was up period-over-period primarily due to lower cash and cash equivalents and additional
debt resulting from paid-in-kind interest related to the Facility and draw under the CLF Promissory
Note;
▪ adjusted net debt was up period-over-period primarily due to lower cash and cash equivalents and
additional debt resulting from paid-in-kind interest related to the Facility; and
▪ total equity was down period-over-period primarily due to net loss recorded during the period.
Conda Highlights
COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Measures
The Company is closely monitoring potential risks to Conda’s employees, contractors and operations as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conda has been deemed an essential business as part of the fertilizer
and agriculture sector and therefore has not been forced to shut down operations on account of the COVID-
19 pandemic. The Company is not currently projecting any material impact on Conda’s operations as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the COVID -19 pandemic, the Company has implemented and continued risk mitigation
measures at Conda to address potential impacts to its employees, contractors and operations as follows:
▪ adopted temporary travel restrictions;
▪ established a da ily COVID-19 emergency operations center to track and respond in real -time to
regional and local developments;
▪ implemented measures to reduce on site presence and interaction of staff;
▪ increased cleaning and disinfecting measures;
▪ adopted new policies related to sick leave and isolation in case of symptoms;
▪ established ongoing dialogue with key business partners (customers, logistics providers, mining
contractor, health insurance provider) to continually monitor the situation;
▪ requalified supervisors and staff on applicable critical operations in the event of an outbreak; and
▪ assessed business relief options.
As at September 30, 2020, there have been a number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst employees
and contractors at Conda. Following such confirmed cases, Conda implemented stringent quarantine and
sanitation efforts to isolate such incidents and prevent further spread.
EHS Highlights
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Conda continued its strong track record of environmental,
health, and safety excellence with no environmental releases and two recordable injuries.
Plant Turnaround
On July 10, 2020, the Company announced its decision to conduct a reduced scope plant turnaround at
Conda during July 2020 as part of its risk mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. On August
20, 2020, the Company announced that Conda completed the reduced scope plant turnaround with no
environmental releases or recordable injuries.
Sulfuric Acid Disruption
On August 20, 2020, the Company announced that Conda had been experiencing a significant disruption
in sulfuric acid supply from Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine. Conda fulfills approximately 40% of its sulfuric acid
requirements from volumes produced internally and approximately 60% from a combination of volumes
received from Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine under a long-term supply agreement and volumes procured from
other third party suppliers. On August 18, 2020, Rio Tinto announced that its Kennecott mine in Utah had
experienced delays to the restart of the smelter. According to Rio Tinto’s announcement, such delays to
the restart of the smelter were due to unexpected issues that appeared following planned maintenance. Rio
Tinto further announced that they were wor king closely with their customers to limit any disruptions and
expected to have the smelter fully operational in two months. The Company has been taking measures to
mitigate potential adverse effects of the disruption in sulfuric acid supply to Conda from Rio Tinto’s
Kennecott mine, including procuring additional sulfuric acid volumes from other third party suppliers and
opportunistically conducting certain maintenance activities during times of lower throughput.
For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, Itafos Conda’s business highlights were as
follows:
(unaudited in thousands of US Dollars
For the three months ended
September 30,
For the nine months ended
September 30,
except for volumes and prices) 2020 2019 2020 2019
Production volumes (t)
MAP 55,213 94,323 230,779 285,326
MAP+ 7,506 9,028 14,319 9,028
SPA 22,432 36,523 99,870 109,054
MGA 79 467 782 1,078
APP 12,317 4,245 25,084 30,779
Total production volumes 97,547 144,586 370,834 435,265
Total production volumes per tonne P2O5 58,337 91,002 234,770 272,487
Sales volumes (t)
MAP 69,009 108,243 247,593 307,006
MAP+ 9,546 — 16,010 —
SPA 20,889 28,636 93,508 96,275
MGA 500 397 1,203 1,078
APP 10,100 4,881 23,754 26,229
Total sales volumes 110,044 142,157 382,068 430,588
Total sales volumes per tonne P2O5 64,431 86,979 237,780 265,914
Realized price ($/t)
MAP $ 329 $ 360 $ 311 $ 396
MAP+ $ 359 $ — $ 360 $ —
SPA $ 804 $ 938 $ 923 $ 982
MGA $ 122 $ 935 $ 616 $ 1,005
APP $ 456 $ 463 $ 455 $ 471
Revenues ($)
MAP $ 22,696 $ 38,948 $ 76,892 $ 121,501
MAP+ $ 3,423 $ — $ 5,760 $ —
SPA $ 16,798 $ 26,869 $ 86,263 $ 94,584
MGA $ 61 $ 371 $ 741 $ 1,083
APP $ 4,610 $ 2,260 $ 10,813 $ 12,342
Total revenues $ 47,588 $ 68,448 $ 180,469 $ 229,510
Revenues per tonne P2O5 $ 739 $ 787 $ 759 $ 863
Cash costs $ 42,342 $ 58,467 $ 150,716 $ 194,530
Cash costs per tonne P2O5 $ 657 $ 672 $ 634 $ 732
Cash margin $ 5,246 $ 9,981 $ 29,753 $ 34,980
Cash margin per tonne P2O5 $ 81 $ 115 $ 125 $ 132
Adjusted EBITDA $ 4,259 $ 8,821 $ 27,013 $ 31,560
Maintenance capex $ 2,719 $ 889 $ 6,220 $ 14,734
Growth capex $ 1,952 $ 4,008 $ 5,105 $ 5,819
Total capex $ 4,671 $ 4,897 $ 11,325 $ 20,553
For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, Conda’s business highlights were explained
as follows:
▪ total production volumes were down year -over-year primarily due to a disruption in sul furic acid
supply from its primary supplier;
▪ total sales volumes were down year -over-year primarily due to timing of MAP lifting which was
partially offset by higher MAP+ and volumes;
▪ cash margin per tonne P2O5 was down due to lower DAP NOLA prices to which MAP sales prices
are linked and reduced liquid premium for SPA, which was partially offset by lower input costs;
▪ maintenance capex was up year -over-year primarily due to timing of maintenance activities
following the Company’s decision to conduct a reduced scope plant turnaround at Conda during
July 2020 as part of its risk mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
▪ growth capex was down year -over-year primarily due to timing of growth initiatives t o advance
H1/NDR.
Arraias Highlights
COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Measures
The Company continues to monitor potential risks to Arraias’ employees, contractors and operations as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arraias has been deemed an essential business as part of the fertilizer
and agriculture sector and therefore has not been forced to shut down operations or care and maintenance
activities on account of the COVID -19 pandemic. The Company is not currently projecting any material
impact on Arraias’ stage-gate restart program or care and maintenance activities as a result of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
In response to the COVID -19 pandemic, the Company has implemented and continued risk mitigation
measures at Arraias to address potential impacts to its employees, contractors and operations as follows:
▪ adopted temporary travel restrictions;
▪ temporarily closed the São Paulo office and implemented measures to facilitate employees working
from home;
▪ cancelled all non-critical site visits and implemented measures to safely continue critical activities
(e.g., tailings dam inspections);
▪ increased safety measures related to screening site visitors;
▪ increased cleaning and disinfecting measures;
▪ adopted new policies related to sick leave and isolation in case of symptoms; and
▪ adopted the procedure to conduct COVID -19 tests to all employees and contractors in a weekly
basis to ensure a safe and healthy environment during the in-fill drilling program.
As at September 30, 2020, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst employees and one
confirmed case amongst contractors at Arraias. Following such confirmed case, Arraias implemented
stringent quarantine and sanitation efforts to isolate the incident and prevent further spread.
EHS Highlights
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, Arraias continued its strong track record of
environmental, health, and safety excellence with no environmental releases or recordable injuries. During
Q3 2020, Arraias achieved a notable milestone by exceeding one year without a recordable injury.
Idling and Stage-Gate Restart Program
On November 21, 2019, the Company announced its decision to idle Arraias and suspend the previously
announced repurpose plan as part of a disciplined approach to capital allocation considering the continued
downward pressure on global fertilizer prices and the additional capital requirements to complete the
repurpose plan.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company safely completed and maintained
the idling of Arraias following best practices to protect and preserve the value of the underlying assets.
Following receipt of approval from the labor union, the Company completed the employee layoffs and
contractor terminations at Arraias associated with the idling. Notwithstanding the idling of Arraias, the
Company has continued to em ploy necessary personnel for the care and maintenance of the assets and
has maintained all licenses and permits in good standing and compliance with existing regulations. In
addition, the Company successfully monetized inventory and raw materials at Arraia s to partially offset
costs.
In parallel with its decision to idle Arraias, the Company engaged the services of Golder Associates Inc.
(“Golder”) and Jesa Technologies LLC (“Jesa”) to conduct third party reports on Arraias’ mine and
beneficiation plant, r espectively. The third party reports, which were completed in January 2020, confirm
that restarting Arraias’ mine and beneficiation plant is feasible and outline the respective timing and capex
requirements.
During Q2 2020, the Company launched a stage-gate restart program at Arraias. Each stage-gate must be
cleared before progressing to the next stage of the program, thereby limiting exposure and managing the
risk. The first stage-gate is the development of a revised geological model and long -term mine plan of the
Domingos pit, which is expected to be completed by Q2 2021. Accordingly, the Company designed and is
advancing a test work campaign aimed at the metallurgical characterization of the Domingos ore as well as
a detailed in-fill drilling program. Th e revised long-term mine plan will be developed to verify the ability to
deliver constant ore grade to the beneficiation process, while the beneficiation plant process design will be
revised to match the geometallurgical characterization of the ore. As par t of this stage-gate, the Company
engaged Jesa in June 2020 to conduct the metallurgical test work that will form the basis of the revised
beneficiation process.