Constellium reports first quarter 2014 financial results

Constellium N.V. today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Highlights of results include:
• Shipments up 3% from prior year
• Q1 2014 Revenues of €883 million and Adjusted EBITDA of €71 million
• Major milestone reached with the signing of U.S. Body-in-White joint venture
• Ratings upgraded to ‘Ba3’ (Moody’s) and ‘BB-’ (Standard & Poor’s )
• Successful completion of $400 million and €300 million bond offerings

Constellium reported solid results for the first quarter of 2014 reflecting strong improvement in our automotive business and solid performance in our packaging business, despite a temporary equipment outage during the first quarter in one of our main aerospace plants.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2014 were €883 million or 3% lower as compared with €911 million in the first quarter of 2013, reflecting lower London Metal Exchange (LME) prices. Excluding changes in LME prices and currency exchange rates, revenues on a like-for-like basis increased 7% compared with the first quarter of 2013.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2014 was €71 million, which represented an increase of 20% from the fourth quarter of 2013 Adjusted EBITDA of €59 million and a decrease of 3%, or €2 million, from the first quarter of 2013 Adjusted EBITDA of €73 million.

First quarter 2014 results were impacted by a five-day equipment outage of the hotline at our Ravenswood, West Virginia aerospace manufacturing facility, and by the impact of foreign exchange rates and higher aluminum premiums as compared with the first quarter of 2013.

First quarter 2014 shipments of 269k metric tons were 15% higher than fourth quarter 2013 shipments of 234k metric tons, and 3% higher than first quarter 2013 shipments of 260k metric tons. Adjusted EBITDA per metric ton for the first quarter 2014 was €263, which represented a decrease of 6% from €280 per metric ton in the first quarter 2013.

Commenting on the first quarter 2014 results, Pierre Vareille, Constellium’s Chief Executive Officer said: “First quarter results met expectations due to another solid performance in our packaging business and continued growth in our automotive business. Aerospace results were negatively impacted by operational issues in the first quarter, however, we have now returned to normal operating conditions. We see strong long term demand in aerospace, particularly for AIRWARE®, where we have a leadership position in the emerging aluminum lithium market. In our automotive markets, we are experiencing unprecedented levels of interest in auto body structures and crash management systems from our global automotive customers for next generation automotive platforms. In parallel, we continue to make significant progress in both Europe and in the U.S. in our long term projects in automotive body-in-white capacity expansions.”