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SCHI.OB > SEC Filings for SCHI.OB > Form 10-Q on 11-Aug-2009All Recent SEC Filings

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Form 10-Q for STERLING CHEMICALS INC


11-Aug-2009

Quarterly Report


Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements (including the Notes thereto) included in Item 1, Part I of this report.
Business Overview
We are a North American producer of selected petrochemicals used to manufacture a wide array of consumer goods and industrial products. We currently operate in two segments: acetic acid and plasticizers. Each segment has a single customer.
Our acetic acid is used primarily to manufacture vinyl acetate monomer, which is used in a variety of products, including adhesives and surface coatings. Pursuant to our 2008 Amended and Restated Production Agreement, or our Acetic Acid Production Agreement, that extends to 2031, all of our acetic acid production is sold to BP Amoco Chemicals Company, or BP Chemicals. We are BP Chemicals' sole source of acetic acid production in the Americas. BP Chemicals markets all of the acetic acid that we produce and pays us, among other amounts, a portion of the profits derived from its sales of our acetic acid. In addition, BP Chemicals reimburses us for 100% of our fixed and variable costs of production, other than specified indirect costs. We also jointly invest with BP Chemicals in capital expenditures related to our acetic acid facility in the same percentage as the profits from the business we receive from BP Chemicals.
We own and operate one of the lowest cost acetic acid facilities in the world. Our acetic acid facility utilizes BP Chemicals' proprietary "Cativa" carbonylation technology, which we believe offers several advantages over competing production methods, including lower energy requirements and lower fixed and variable costs. Acetic acid production has two major raw material requirements, methanol and carbon monoxide. BP Chemicals, a producer of methanol, supplies 100% of our methanol requirements related to our production of acetic acid. All of our requirements for carbon monoxide are supplied by Praxair Hydrogen Supply, Inc., or Praxair, from a partial oxidation unit constructed by Praxair on land leased from us at our site in Texas City, Texas, or our Texas City facility.
Although recent slowdowns in the housing and automotive markets have reduced short-term global demand for vinyl acetate monomer, the largest derivative of acetic acid, annual global production of vinyl acetate monomer is expected to increase from 10.4 billion pounds in 2005 to 12.2 billion pounds in 2010. The North American acetic acid industry tends to sell most of its products through long-term sales agreements having "cost plus" pricing mechanisms, eliminating much of the volatility seen in other petrochemicals products and resulting in more stable and predictable earnings and profit margins.
All of our plasticizers, which are used to make flexible plastics, such as shower curtains, floor coverings, automotive parts and construction materials, are sold to BASF Corporation, or BASF, pursuant to a long-term production agreement that extends until 2013, subject to some early termination rights held by BASF that begin in 2010. Under our agreement with BASF, or our Plasticizers Production Agreement, BASF provides us with most of the required raw materials, markets the plasticizers that we produce and is obligated to make certain fixed quarterly payments to us while reimbursing us monthly for our actual production costs and capital expenditures relating to our plasticizers facility. Due to the terms of our Plasticizers Production Agreement, we are not exposed to fluctuations in costs or market conditions. Our Plasticizers Production Agreement was amended in May 2008, after BASF nominated zero pounds of phthalic anhydride, or PA, under the prior version of the agreement due to deteriorating market conditions, which ultimately resulted in the closure of our PA unit.
On September 17, 2007, we entered into a long-term exclusive styrene supply agreement and a related railcar purchase and sale agreement with NOVA Chemicals Inc., which was subsequently assigned to INEOS NOVA, LLC, or INEOS NOVA. After the supply agreement became effective, INEOS NOVA nominated zero pounds of styrene under the supply agreement for the balance of 2007 and, in response, we exercised our right to terminate the supply agreement and permanently shut down our styrene facility. Under the supply agreement, we were responsible for the closure costs of our styrene facility and are also restricted from reentering the styrene business until November 2012. The restricted period was initially eight years; however, INEOS NOVA unilaterally reduced the restricted period to five years on April 1, 2008.


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We sold substantially all remaining styrene inventory during the first quarter of 2008. The decommissioning process was completed by the end of 2008, and the associated costs incurred for 2007 and 2008 were $0.7 million and $18.9 million, respectively. In July 2008, we announced a reduction in work force in order to reduce our staffing to a level appropriate for our existing operations and site development projects. As a result, we reduced our salaried work force by 19 people and our hourly work force by 15 people. In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 146, "Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities," we recognized and paid $1.4 million of severance costs in 2008. Additionally, as a result of our work force reduction, we recorded a curtailment loss of $1.2 million for our benefit plans in accordance with SFAS No. 88, "Employers' Accounting for Settlements and Curtailments of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and for Termination Benefits," in 2008.
We own the acetic acid and plasticizers manufacturing units located at our Texas City facility. We lease a portion of our Texas City facility to Praxair, who constructed a partial oxidation unit on that land. We also lease a portion of our Texas City facility to S&L Cogeneration Company, a 50/50 joint venture between us and Praxair Energy Resources, Inc., or Praxair Energy, who constructed a cogeneration facility on that land. However, because our strategic initiatives under consideration do not require utilization of the steam produced by the cogeneration facility, we and Praxair Energy elected to terminate the joint venture and have amended the joint venture agreement governing S&L Cogeneration Company to extend its term until the later of November 30, 2009 or upon completion of all final audits, and to address several matters related to the sale of the cogeneration facility, the distribution of the joint venture's assets and the termination and winding-up of its affairs. We lease space for our principal offices located in Houston, Texas. We operate in two segments: acetic acid and plasticizers.
Recent Developments
On June 4, 2009 our acetic acid plant was shut down for 42 days for a scheduled turnaround to coincide with the required maintenance shutdown of our carbon monoxide supplier. Capital projects installed in the acetic acid plant during the shutdown included replacement of the acetic acid product column, two exchangers and the distributive control systems, as well as consolidation of two cooling towers and several smaller projects. Sterling's portion of the capital cost of these projects totaled $5.5 million, of which $1.8 million was incurred during the second quarter of 2009, with the balance incurred previously. Maintenance work in the acetic acid and utilities departments during the shutdown totaled $3.0 million and included the cleaning, inspection and repair of a large number of columns, exchangers, control and block valves, instruments and other miscellaneous repairs. As a result of the shutdown, the maximum sustainable annual production rate of our acetic acid plant has increased from approximately 1.2 billion pounds per year to approximately 1.3 billion pounds per year, and we will be able to extend the unit turnaround interval. Results of Operations
Three Months Ended June 30, 2009 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2008 Revenues and loss from continuing operations Our revenues were $26.9 million for the second quarter of 2009, a 44% decrease from the $47.8 million in revenues we recorded for the second quarter of 2008. We had a net loss from continuing operations of $3.4 million for the second quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2008.
Revenues from our acetic acid operations were $19.8 million in the second quarter of 2009, a 49% decrease from the $39.2 million in revenues from these operations in the second quarter of 2008. This decrease in acetic acid revenues in the second quarter of 2009 was primarily due to reduced profit-sharing revenue of approximately $9.0 million as a result of reduced margins and slightly lower sales volumes compared to the second quarter of 2008. Additionally, reimbursement of variable costs for the second quarter of 2009 was lower by approximately $11.0 million due to the shutdown of our acetic acid unit in June 2009 for scheduled maintenance work. Gross loss for our acetic acid operations was $0.1 million for the second quarter of 2009 compared to gross profit of $9.5 million for the second quarter of 2008. This decrease in gross profit was primarily due to the reduced profit-sharing revenue discussed above.


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Revenues from our plasticizers operations were $6.9 million in the second quarter of 2009, a 19% decrease from the $8.5 million in revenues from these operations in the second quarter of 2008. Our higher revenues for the second quarter of 2008 were primarily due to a $1.9 million reimbursement of costs during the quarter related to the closure of the phthalic anhydride, or PA, unit. Gross profit from our plasticizers operations was $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2009 compared to $1.2 million for the second quarter of 2008.
Selling, general and administrative expenses Our selling, general and administrative expenses were $3.3 million for the second quarter of 2009 compared to $3.8 million for the second quarter of 2008. This decrease was primarily due to decreased legal fees resulting from the resolution of various lawsuits in the second quarter of 2009. These figures exclude insurance reimbursements of $1.2 million which are recorded in other income.
Impairment of long-lived assets
We recorded zero and $6.6 million for impairment of long-lived assets for the three months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The $6.6 million impairment in the second quarter of 2008 was for the write-down of the phthalic anhydride, or PA, assets to zero as a result of the shutdown of the PA unit.
Interest and debt related expenses
We recorded $4.0 million and $4.7 million of interest and debt related expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The decrease for the three months ended June 30, 2009, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2008, was primarily due to $0.3 million write-off of debt fees resulting from the reduction of our commitment under our revolving credit facility in the second quarter of 2008. The remaining decrease was due to increased capitalized interest and reduced credit facility fees for the second quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter of 2008.
Interest income
We recorded $0.2 million of interest income in the second quarter of 2009 compared to $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2008. This decrease was due to lower interest rates earned on our cash investments in 2009 compared to 2008.
Other income
Our other income was $1.5 million for the second quarter of 2009 compared to zero for the second quarter of 2008. This increase in other income was primarily due to the receipt of a previously disputed contractual payment and the reimbursement from insurers of legal fees related to various lawsuits during the second quarter of 2009.
Benefit for income taxes
During the second quarter of 2009, we recorded a net tax benefit of $1.0 million for income taxes from continuing operations, compared to a net tax expense of zero for income taxes from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2008. The net tax benefit in the second quarter of 2009 was generated as a result of utilizing income in discontinued operations to recognize a portion of the benefit from losses generated in continuing operations. Our continuing operations effective tax rate was 23.3% for the three month period ended June 30, 2009 compared to an effective tax rate of zero for the period ended June 30, 2008; and there was no change to the valuation allowance of $52.0 million.


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Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax During the second quarter of 2009, net income from discontinued operations, net of tax was $1.9 million compared to a net loss of $1.6 million for the second quarter of 2008. This improvement was primarily due to costs incurred for completing the decommissioning of our styrene facility in 2008. Six Months Ended June 30, 2009 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2008 Revenues and loss from continuing operations Our revenues were $58.3 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009, a 32% decrease from the $86.1 million in revenues we recorded for the six-month period ended June 30, 2008. We had a net loss from continuing operations of $4.0 million in the first six months of 2009, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $5.2 million in the first six months of 2008.
Revenues from our acetic acid operations were approximately $43.6 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009, a 36% decrease from the $68.1 million in revenues from these operations for the six-month period ended June 30, 2008. This decrease in acetic acid revenues in the first six months of 2009 was primarily due to reduced profit-sharing revenue of approximately $8.0 million as a result of lower sales volumes and reduced margins compared to the first six months of 2008. Additionally, reimbursement of variable costs for the first six months of 2009 was lower by approximately $17.0 million due to the shutdown of our acetic acid unit in June 2009 for scheduled maintenance. Gross profit from our acetic acid operations was $4.4 million for the first six months of 2009 compared to $13.5 million for the first six months of 2008. The decrease in gross profit was primarily due to the reduced profit-sharing revenue discussed above.
Revenues from our plasticizers operations were approximately $14.2 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009, a 19% decrease from the $17.5 million in revenues from these operations for the six-month period ended June 30, 2008. Our higher revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2008 is primarily due to a $3.7 million reimbursement of costs in the first six months of 2008 related to the closure of our PA unit. Gross profit from our plasticizers operations was $2.7 million for the first six months of 2009 compared to $3.1 million for the first six months of 2008.
Selling, general and administrative expenses Our selling, general and administrative expenses were $7.2 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009, compared to $6.2 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2008. This increase in 2009 was primarily due to increased legal fees related to various lawsuits. These figures exclude insurance reimbursements of $1.3 million which are recorded in other income.
Impairment of long-lived assets
We recorded zero and $6.6 million for impairment of long-lived assets for the six months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The $6.6 million impairment in the second quarter of 2008 was for the write-down of PA assets to zero as a result of the shutdown of the PA unit.
Interest and debt related expenses
We recorded $8.0 million and $8.9 million of interest and debt related expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The decrease for the six months ended June 30, 2009, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2008, was primarily due to $0.3 million write-off of debt fees resulting from the reduction of our commitment under our revolving credit facility in the second quarter of 2008. The remaining decrease was due to increased capitalized interest and reduced credit facility fees for first six months of 2009 compared to the first six months of 2008.


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Interest income
We recorded $0.6 million of interest income for the first six months of 2009 compared to $2.4 million in the first six months of 2008. This decrease was due to lower interest rates earned on our cash investments in 2009 compared to 2008.
Other income
Our other income was $2.7 million for the first six months of 2009 compared to zero for the first six months of 2008. This increase in other income was primarily due to the receipt of a previously disputed contractual payment and the reimbursement of legal fees related to various lawsuits during the first six months of 2009.
Benefit for income taxes
During the six month periods ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, we recorded net tax benefit of $1.2 million and zero, respectively, for income taxes from continuing operations. The net tax benefit in the six-month period ended June 30, 2009, was generated as a result of utilizing income in discontinued operations to recognize a portion of the benefit from losses generated in continuing operations. Our continuing operations effective tax rate was 23.5% for the six month period ended June 30, 2009, compared to an effective tax rate of zero for the six month period ended June 30, 2008. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, there was no change to our valuation allowance of $52.0 million.
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax During the first six months of 2009, net income from discontinued operations, net of tax was $3.6 million compared to a net loss of $7.9 million for the first six months of 2008. This improvement was primarily due to costs incurred for completing the decommissioning of our styrene facility in 2008. Liquidity and Capital Resources
On March 29, 2007, we completed a private offering of $150 million aggregate principal amount of unregistered 101/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2015, or our Secured Notes, pursuant to a Purchase Agreement among us, Sterling Chemicals Energy, Inc., or Sterling Energy, one of our former wholly-owned subsidiaries, and Jefferies & Company, Inc. and CIBC World Markets Corp., as initial purchasers. In connection with that offering, we entered into an indenture, dated March 29, 2007, among us, Sterling Energy, as guarantor, and U. S. Bank National Association, as trustee and collateral agent. On May 6, 2008, Sterling Energy was merged with and into us. Upon consummation of the merger, Sterling Energy no longer had independent existence and, consequently, our Secured Notes are no longer guaranteed by Sterling Energy. Pursuant to a registration rights agreement among us, Sterling Energy and the initial purchasers, we agreed to exchange our unregistered Secured Notes for a new issue of substantially identical debt securities registered under the Securities Act, to cause the registration statement for the exchange offer to become effective by December 24, 2007, and to complete the exchange offer within 50 days of the effective date of the registration statement. On August 30, 2007, we made an initial filing of the exchange offer registration statement. However, the registration statement was not declared effective by December 24, 2007, and, as a result, the interest rate on our Secured Notes increased by 0.25% per annum on each of December 25, 2007, March 24, 2008 and June 22, 2008. The registration statement was declared effective on August 13, 2008, and the exchange offer was closed on September 19, 2008. As a result, the interest rate on our Secured Notes reverted back to the face amount of 101/4% per annum when the exchange offer closed. The additional interest incurred from December 25, 2007 through the closing of the exchange offer was approximately $0.5 million and was paid on April 1 and October 1, 2008.
Our indenture contains affirmative and negative covenants and customary events of default, including payment defaults, breaches of covenants and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency and reorganization. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, other than an event of default triggered upon certain bankruptcy events, the trustee under our indenture or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of our outstanding Secured Notes may declare our Secured Notes to be due and payable immediately. Upon an event of default, the trustee may also take actions to foreclose on the collateral securing our outstanding Secured Notes, subject to the terms of an intercreditor agreement


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dated March 29, 2007, among us, Sterling Energy, the trustee and The CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc. Our indenture does not require us to maintain any financial ratios or satisfy any financial maintenance tests. We are currently in compliance with all of the covenants contained in our indenture.
Interest is due on our outstanding Secured Notes on April 1 and October 1 of each year. Our outstanding Secured Notes, which mature on April 1, 2015, are senior secured obligations and rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing and future senior indebtedness. Subject to specified permitted liens, our outstanding Secured Notes are secured (i) on a first priority basis by all of our fixed assets and certain related assets, including, without limitation, all property, plant and equipment and (ii) on a second priority basis by our other assets, including, without limitation, accounts receivable, inventory, capital stock of our domestic restricted subsidiaries, intellectual property, deposit accounts and investment property.
On December 19, 2002, we entered into a Revolving Credit Agreement, or our revolving credit facility, with The CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc., as administrative agent and a lender, and certain other lenders. Under our revolving credit facility, we and Sterling Energy were co-borrowers and were jointly and severally liable for any indebtedness thereunder. After the merger of Sterling Energy with and into us, Sterling Energy ceased to be a co-borrower under our revolving credit facility. Our revolving credit facility is secured by first priority liens on all of our accounts receivable, inventory and other specified assets. On March 29, 2007, we amended and restated our revolving credit facility to, among other things, extend the term of our revolving credit facility until March 29, 2012, reduce the maximum commitment thereunder to $50 million, make certain changes to the calculation of the borrowing base and lower the interest rates and fees charged thereunder. Borrowings under our revolving credit facility bear interest, at our option, at an annual rate of a base rate plus 0.0% to 0.50% or the LIBOR rate plus 1.50% to 2.25%, depending on our borrowing availability at the time. We are also required to pay an aggregate commitment fee of 0.375% per year (payable monthly) on any unused portion of our revolving credit facility. Available credit under our revolving credit facility is subject to a monthly borrowing base of 70% of eligible accounts receivable plus 65% of eligible inventory. In response to the expected continued lower levels of accounts receivable and inventory, as well as our lesser need for a working capital facility, we reduced our commitment under our revolving credit facility to $25 million on June 30, 2008. On November 7, 2008, we further amended our revolving credit facility to substantially reduce restrictions, subject to minimum liquidity requirements, on investment of cash and other assets, payment of cash dividends, repurchase of debt and equity securities, modification of preferred stock terms, entry into affiliated transactions, disposition of assets and engagement in certain business activities. We paid the administrative agent an amendment fee plus expenses totaling approximately $0.1 million in connection with this amendment.
CIT Group, Inc., the administrative agent and a lender under our revolving credit facility, has incurred significant rating downgrades due to liquidity concerns. The bank recently announced that it had entered into a $3 billion loan facility provided by a group of its major bondholders and that it intends to commence a comprehensive restructuring of its liabilities to provide additional liquidity and further strengthen its capital position. We are closely monitoring this situation; we do not believe it will have a material impact on our financial condition or our ability to fund operations.
As of June 30, 2009, total credit available under our revolving credit facility was $9.1 million, there were no loans outstanding and we had $3.5 million in letters of credit outstanding, resulting in borrowing availability of $5.6 million. Pursuant to Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 95-22, "Balance Sheet Classification of Borrowings under Revolving Credit Agreements That Include both a Subjective Acceleration Clause and a Lock-Box Arrangement," any balances outstanding under our revolving credit facility would be classified as a current portion of long-term debt.
Our revolving credit facility contains numerous covenants and conditions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on our ability to incur indebtedness, create liens, sell assets, make investments of cash and other assets, make capital expenditures, engage in mergers and acquisitions and pay cash dividends. Our revolving credit facility also includes various circumstances and conditions that would, upon their occurrence and subject in certain cases to notice and grace periods, create an event of default thereunder. Our revolving credit facility does not require us to maintain any financial ratios or satisfy any financial maintenance tests. We are currently in compliance with all of the covenants contained in our revolving credit facility.


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Our liquidity (i.e., cash and cash equivalents plus total credit available under our revolving credit facility) was $156.4 million at June 30, 2009, a decrease of $10.8 million compared to our liquidity at December 31, 2008. This decrease was primarily due to a $5.9 million decrease in our borrowing base as a result of the reduction in accounts receivable from December 31, 2008, and $6.4 million for capital expenditures during the first six months of 2009.
Distress in the financial markets during 2008 and 2009 has had an adverse impact on financial market activities including, among other things, volatility in security prices, diminished liquidity and credit availability, rating downgrades of certain investments and declining valuations of others. We have assessed the implications of these factors on our current business and determined that there has not been a significant impact to our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity during the second quarter of 2009. Our cash is invested in highly rated money market funds, which are guaranteed by the US Department of Treasury under its Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds. We believe that our cash on hand and cash generated from continuing operations, along with credit available under our revolving credit facility, will be sufficient to meet our short-term and long-term liquidity needs for the reasonably foreseeable future. Working Capital
Our working capital was $137.0 million as of June 30, 2009, a decrease of $9.0 million from our working capital of $146.0 million as of December 31, 2008. This decrease was primarily due to a $7.7 million accrual for interest related to our Secured Notes, capital expenditures of $6.4 million, shutdown costs of . . .

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