Tronox Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) (“Tronox” or the “Company”), the world’s leading integrated manufacturer of titanium dioxide (“TiO2“) pigment, today reported its financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, as follows:

First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights:
*Produced revenue of $774 million, a 13% increase compared to the prior quarter, or a 9% increase compared to the prior year
*Generated income from operations of $41 million, and a net loss of $9 million; adjusted net loss was $7 million (non-GAAP)
*GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.06

Chief Executive Officer John D. Romano commented, “As we stated in the release of our preliminary first quarter results, Tronox delivered a stronger first quarter than anticipated. This was driven by lower production costs across our operations, destocking having largely run its course through the supply chain paired with demand trajectory outpacing normal seasonal levels, and our ability to respond to that demand through the strength of our global footprint. Our revenue increased 13% compared to the prior quarter, or 20% on TiO2 and zircon revenue alone, excluding other product sales which saw a decrease due to non-repeating sales of ilmenite and a portion of our rare earth tailings deposit in South Africa. The 18% increase in TiO2 volumes from the fourth quarter exceeded the growth that would be more typical for this time of year. However, this type of rebound is indicative of what we would expect to see on the front end of a recovery. Demand improved across all regions, and outperformed even more so in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America where volumes declined more significantly over the past six quarters. Zircon continued to recover from the trough volumes seen in July 2023, driven by strong underlying demand, despite the market in China remaining fairly muted. Pricing for both TiO2 and zircon was in line with our expectations.

“On the operational side, we incurred significant costs in 2023 from running our assets at low utilization rates due to soft underlying demand. As we saw the market start to turn late last year, we began increasing our operating rates. As a result, our first quarter manufacturing costs improved when compared to both the prior year and prior quarter. As the high-cost inventory continues to move through our internal supply chain, efficiencies from investments made in the business to reduce costs will enable margins to return to levels realized prior to the downturn. The first quarter has been a true inflection point, and we believe the trends on both the market side and in reducing our costs will continue going forward. We are well on our way to delivering a step change in earnings power, having already worked through much of the remaining high cost inventory on the balance sheet.”
more at: https://www.tronox.com/tronox-reports-first-quarter-2024-financial-results/