Tronox reports Q1 adjusted EPS (15c), consensus 2c

Reports Q1 revenue $738M, consensus $746.01M. Reports Q1 revenue $200.3M, consensus $197.2M. Chief Executive Officer John Romano commented, “Tronox (TROX) realized stronger than normal seasonable demand uplift in TiO2, sequentially. Europe led this growth bolstered by the finalization of anti-dumping duties in January, with sales volumes recovering to levels not seen since Q2 2021. North America also realized stronger seasonable trends, while competitive activity in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia continued to exert pressure on sales. Zircon sales were lower both compared to the prior year and sequentially, as anticipated, due to weaker overall demand, primarily in China. Despite increased competitive dynamics across all products, pricing for the quarter came in as anticipated. Our production costs in the first quarter were higher than expected, primarily due to lower operating rates at Botlek and increases in direct material prices. Our focus on cost reduction drove SG&A lower in the quarter. As a result of these factors, we delivered an Adjusted EBITDA of $112 million and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.2%. In response to ongoing macroeconomic volatility, Tronox has taken decisive strategic actions to manage the levers within our control. The idling of our Botlek pigment plant as announced in March is expected to result in improved free cash flow in 2025 due to the draw down of pigment inventories and more than $30 million of cost improvements from 2026 onwards. Our team is working diligently to execute on our cost improvement program, which we expect to deliver sustainable, run-rate cost improvements of $125-175 million by the end of 2026. Our capital expenditures are primarily focused on critical maintenance and ensuring the completion of our South Africa mining projects this year to maintain our vertical integration cost advantage. Once complete, we expect to realize a $50-60 million improvement in our mining cost profile from 2025 to 2026. We anticipate offsetting the Company’s first quarter free cash flow use by generating positive free cash flow across the balance of the year. These measures underscore our commitment to operational efficiency and enhanced earnings.”