U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. recently announced a net loss of $6.9 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2016, compared with a net loss of $15.3 million for the 2015 fourth quarter. Results for the 2016 fourth quarter were negatively impacted by $2.6 million of business development-related expenses, including acquisition-related costs for Sandbox and NBR Sand.

“Despite the many challenges, we made substantial progress in 2016 to make our company leaner, stronger, more flexible and ultimately easier for customers to do business with, all of which we believe will enable us to further extend our industry-leading positions in both our Oil and Gas and Industrial and Specialty Products segments,” said Bryan Shinn, president and CEO. “Looking ahead at 2017, we see strong demand for both sand proppant and last mile logistics in our Oil and Gas business and believe we have the right strategy and are well-positioned to capitalize on these favorable market trends. For our Industrial segment, demand in most of our end-use markets is anticipated to stay strong, and we expect to continue to roll out new, higher margin products to drive bottom line growth.”

Revenue in 2016 totaled $559.6 million, compared with $643.0 million for 2015, a decrease of 13%. Overall tons sold were 9.9 million, virtually flat compared with 10.0 million tons for 2015. Selling, general and administrative expense for the year totaled $67.7 million, compared with $62.8 million for 2015, an increase of 8%. Contribution margin was $90.4 million, or 16% of revenue, compared with $159.1 million, or 25% of revenue, for 2015. Adjusted EBITDA was $39.6 million, or 7% of revenue, compared with $109.5 million, or 17% of revenue, for 2015.

Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2016 totaled $182.4 million, compared with $136.1 million for the same period last year, an increase of 34% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 32% sequentially compared to the 2016 third quarter. Overall tons sold were 2.9 million, up 16% compared with the 2.5 million tons sold in the fourth quarter of 2015 and an increase of 15% sequentially from the third quarter of 2016.

Contribution margin for the quarter was $37.5 million, up 69% compared with $22.1 million in the same period of the prior year and an increase of 90% sequentially from the third quarter of 2016. Adjusted EBITDA was $20.7 million, up 92% compared with $10.8 million for the same period last year and an increase of 150% sequentially compared with the 2016 third quarter.

Revenue in the Oil and Gas segment for the 2016 fourth quarter totaled $137.0 million, an increase of 54% compared with $88.8 million for the same period in 2015 and an increase of 58% sequentially compared with the third quarter of 2016. Tons sold totaled 2.1 million, up 34% compared with 1.6 million tons sold in the fourth quarter of 2015 and an increase of 29% sequentially from the third quarter of 2016. 75% of tons were sold in basin, compared with 54% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 65% sold in basin in the third quarter of 2016. Segment contribution margin was $18.5 million, a 166% improvement compared with $7.0 million in the same period of the prior year and a $20.4 million increase sequentially from the third quarter of 2016.

Industrial and Specialty Products revenue for the quarter totaled $45.4 million, compared with $47.3 million for the same period in 2015, a decrease of 4% and a decrease of 11% on a sequential basis from the third quarter of 2016. Tons sold totaled 0.8 million, a decrease of 14% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 10% on a sequential basis compared with the third quarter of 2016. Segment contribution margin was $19.0 million, compared with $15.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 25% on a year-over-year basis and a decrease of 12% sequentially compared with the 2016 third quarter.

Due to the current lack of visibility in its Oil and Gas business, the company will continue to refrain from providing guidance for adjusted EBITDA until such time as it can gain more clarity around its customers’ business activity levels and the associated product demand. Based on current market conditions, the company anticipates that its capital expenditures for 2017 will be in the range of $125 million to $150 million.

For more information, visit www.ussilica.com.