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| Ferroglobe |
Sharp fall in silicon prices and soft demand hits margins; manganese alloy gains offer limited relief.
Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) reported a 51.2% drop in adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2024, totaling $153.8 million, as weak pricing and falling demand for silicon alloys pressured margins across its key markets in the US and Europe.
The Spanish-based ferro-alloys and silicon producer saw its silicon metal shipments rise 14.6% year-over-year to 222,762 tonnes, but average prices dropped 12.2% to $3,262/tonne. In Q4, volumes fell 12.5% sequentially to 49,797 tonnes, reflecting reduced EMEA demand.
Silicon-based alloy shipments fell 4.4% y/y to 183,030 tonnes, with a 13.3% sequential decline in Q4. This translated into a 73.7% plunge in adjusted EBITDA for the silicon alloy segment, impacted by continued weakness in the automotive and construction sectors.
Meanwhile, manganese alloy volumes improved, rising 21.5% y/y to 275,991 tonnes, and average selling prices increased 5.7% to $1,141/tonne. However, Q4 earnings for manganese alloys fell 74.5% from Q3 due to elevated ore costs and soft spot prices.
Ferroglobe also reported that raw material and energy costs rose to 62.5% of revenue, up from 53.3% in 2023, driven by higher energy prices and lower product pricing, compressing overall margins.
Despite the difficult environment, CEO Marco Levi pointed to a potential market stabilization from recent trade defense measures. The US Department of Commerce has imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Russian ferro-silicon, and is investigating imports from Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.
In parallel, the European Commission has launched a safeguard investigation covering silicon metal, silicon alloys, and manganese alloys.
“These measures,” said Levi, “will support domestic producers like Ferroglobe by limiting artificially low-priced imports.”
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