Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call August 15, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Alex Rotonen - VP, IR

Marco Levi - CEO & Executive Director

Beatriz García-Cos - CFO & Principal Accounting Officer

Conference Call Participants

Lucas Pipes - B. Riley Securities

Martin Englert - Seaport Research Partners

John Rolfe - Crescent Capital

Morten Normann - Carnegie

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Ferroglobe's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions].

I would now like to turn the call over to Alex Rotonen, Ferroglobe's Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

Alex Rotonen

Thank you, Nadia. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Ferroglobe's Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call. Joining me today are Marco Levi, our Chief Executive Officer; and Beatriz García-Cos, our Chief Financial Officer.

Before we get started with prepared remarks, I'm going to read a brief statement. Please turn to Slide #2. Statements made by management during this conference call that are forward-looking are based on current expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements can be found in Ferroglobe's most recent SEC filings and exhibits to those filings, which are available on our web page at ferrogloble.com.

In addition, this discussion includes references to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted gross debt, net debt, and adjusted diluted earnings per share, among other non-IFRS measures. Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures may be found in our most recent SEC filings.

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Marco Levi, our Chief Executive Officer.

Marco Levi

Thank you, Alex, and good day to everybody. Thanks for joining us on the call today. We appreciate your interest in Ferroglobe. I would like to briefly comment on our safety record improvements as our employees are our most valuable asset. Over the past 18 months, the rate of lost time injuries declined by 66% based on our rolling 3-month data, approaching best-in-class industry standards. One of our top priorities is providing a safe work environment for our employees. And we will continue to focus on providing the safest possible workplace.

Our solid results in the second quarter reinforce our strong execution and ability to successfully navigate a challenging market. Sales increased 14% and adjusted EBITDA increased 136% to $106 million over the prior year quarter. Our cash balance reached $363 million, the highest level in Ferroglobe's history. In addition, our net debt further declined to $37 million, also a record level for the company.